SOCHI, May 16 (RIA Novosti) - Rescuers at the site where an Armenian airliner crashed into the Black Sea early May 3 started an operation to recover the plane's flight recorders Tuesday.
The black boxes are seen as the key to discovering why the Airbus crashed 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) off the Russian coast with the loss of all 113 people on board.
A remote-controlled deep-sea robot with special grippers will be used to lift the recording devices to the surface, rescue officials said.
Transportation Minister Igor Levitin, who is overseeing the recovery effort, said earlier that recovery efforts could take two or three days, depending on the weather.
The latest data shows the black boxes are at a depth of 496 meters (1,627 feet) and are 5 meters (16 feet) apart from each other.
The Airbus A-320 operated by Armenia's Armavia was flying from the Armenian capital, Yerevan, to Adler airport, which services the popular Russian resort of Sochi, when it came down in stormy weather.
