Investigators probing a plane crash that killed two Air Tindi pilots near Whati late last month have recovered the aircraft's cockpit voice recorder, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has announced.
Will Hayworth and Zach McKillop died after their King Air 200 crashed during a flight from Yellowknife to Whati. The pair were confirmed deceased after the crash site was located on Jan. 31.
The two men died on impact after crashing at a “high velocity,” Jon Lee, the TSB’s western regional manager, stated following the fatal wreck.
The cockpit voice recorder has been sent to the TSB Engineering Laboratory in Ottawa for analysis, a news release stated.
The recovery of the voice recorder had been a priority for investigators, who faced challenges finding aircraft parts due to heavy snowfalls, Lee told NNSL Media earlier this month.
The recorder could hold clues as to what caused the fatal plane crash, Lee said.
The recorders are “designed to contain data on the flight crew conversations, radio transmissions and sounds heard in the cockpit,” according to the update from the TSB.
The remnants of the downed King Air 200 plane will be sent to Edmonton for further examination.
It's expected to take months before a cause of the crash is determined.