Dehra Dun: The Black Box of the ill-fated Mesco helicopter that crashed into the Arabian Sea off Mumbai on August 11 killing 25 Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) personnel has been recovered, ONGC chairman Subir Raha said on August 14.

''We have got information that the Black Box of the crashed helicopter has been recovered,'' Raha, who came to Dehra Dun to participate in the ONGC Day, told reporters.

He said the helicopter was charted by ONGC for a year and added it was found fit by experts from DGCA and Russia.

The recovery of the Black Box is likely to help the investigation into the mishap, he said, adding that ONGC operates a fleet of 15 helicopters for Western offshore operations and the DGCA regularly checks them all.

Referring to the crashed copter, he said the last major inspection on it was done on March 26 this year and the certificate of airworthiness issued by DGCA for it is valid till March 30 next year.

PTI