NTSB Completes Evaluation of Recovered Materials, Finds They're Not from Flight 980
The agency determined the materials did not contain any data or information relevant to the 1985 crash.
The National Transportation Safety Board announced it has determined that materials recently received from the site in Bolivia where Eastern Airlines Flight 980 crashed did not contain any data or information relevant to that Jan. 1, 1985, crash.
The materials were collected by two U.S. citizens in Bolivia and later given to the NTSB to examine. Some of the materials found included metal fragments, a damaged spool of magnetic tape, and more.
No identifiable, specific serial numbers were found on the materials, although one metal piece was identified as a cockpit voice recorder rack and other metal pieces were consistent with parts related to the flight data recorder pressurized container assembly, NTSB reported. It reported the magnetic tape on the spool was 3/4-inch U-Matic video tape and, when reviewed, was found to contain an 18-minute recording of the 1966 "Trial by Treehouse" episode from the television series "I Spy," dubbed in Spanish. "The magnetic tape segments were not the 1/4-inch width tape from a cockpit voice recorder or flight data recorder," according to NTSB.