31 years later, we found the flight recorders
We started out this trip with the goal of finding the black box — the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder — of Eastern Airlines Flight 980. We also had a goal to live a life of adventure, to challenge ourselves physically and mentally, and to come back with a story.
We found what we believe to be the flight recorders.
On day 1 searching the lower debris field near Mina Mesa Khala, we found two pieces of metal. On both, one side was “international orange” and the other was what we’ve been calling Boeing green because it seems to be on every piece out here and isn’t an Eastern Airlines color.
Also, both pieces were significantly mangled, twisted, and scratched presumably from three forces: the Boeing 727 flying into the mountain at 500 mph, the metal fell 4000 feet down from the impact site to the base of Illimani, and the natural grinding of ice and boulders that make up this living mountain.