The crash occurred just before 9 p.m. Wednesday when American Airlines Flight 5342 from Wichita, Kansas, attempted to land and collided in midair with the Black Hawk helicopter.

If you want to establish why a plane crashed, you need to retrieve the black box. This virtually indestructible orange device ...

DC plane crash latest updates: Flight recorder 'black box' from army Black Hawk helicopter recovered from wreckage - None of the 67 passengers and crew are believed to have survived ...

The Black Hawk's black box -- a combined cockpit voice recorder and digital flight data recorder -- has been recovered in good condition, NTSB member Todd Inman said during a briefing.

The flight data recorder monitors a plane’s altitude, airspeed and heading, according to the NTSB. Those factors are among at least 88 parameters that newly built planes must monitor.

“We are formally demanding the immediate release of the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder – the black box. These devices contain vital information that can reveal the truth behind this ...

The NTSB also said the Sikorsky H-60 helicopter has its own flight recorder, but is yet to confirm that it has been recovered.

The black box is one of the most important safety devices on an aircraft, and it contains two main pieces of equipment—a cockpit voice recorder and a flight data recorder. The former equipment ...

American Airlines Flight 5342 from Wichita, Kansas, was attempting to land when the plane and a Black Hawk helicopter collided.