U.S. team recovers flight voice recorder of Chinook helicopter that crashed in Philippines

<br>ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (AP) _ A U.S. team has recovered the flight voice recorder from an Army helicopter that crashed in February and hope it may help determine the cause of the accident that killed

Monday, April 1st 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

ZAMBOANGA, Philippines (AP) _ A U.S. team has recovered the flight voice recorder from an Army helicopter that crashed in February and hope it may help determine the cause of the accident that killed 10 American servicemen, a U.S. official said Monday.

The two engines of the MH-47E Chinook helicopter also were recovered over the weekend at a depth of about 200 feet off the central Philippine island of Negros, U.S. Maj. Cynthia Teramae said. Eight bodies have been retrieved, including five found on Friday.

Officials have said it was unlikely that hostile fire was the cause of the Feb. 22 crash.

The flight recorder will be sent to the United States for examination.

The helicopter was returning to a central Philippine air base after ferrying the final batch of a 160-strong U.S. Special Forces contingent to southern Basilan island for a counterterrorism training exercise against the Muslim extremist group Abu Sayyaf when it crashed.

Witnesses saw the helicopter in flames as it fell, then exploded when it hit the water. Crewmen of an accompanying Chinook immediately retrieved three bodies.

Teramae said U.S. authorities were also investigating the crash Sunday of an unmanned American spy plane off the southern port city of Zamboanga. It has been used for aerial reconnaissance to pinpoint Abu Sayyaf locations on nearby Basilan.