M 22-1993 16:56 FROM UKREP ICAO MTL
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of the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and digital flight data recorder (DFDR). The Council further instructed the Secretary General to undertake the investigation on an urgent basis and report back to the Council as soon as possible.
1.2
In a memorandum to Representatives on the Council from the Secretary General dated 28 January 1993, certain factual information was provided on the steps taken in this regard as of that date. The purpose of this paper is to present to the Council an interim report on the progress of the fact-finding investigation.
2.
2.1
INTRODUCTION
Immediately following the Council decision, an investigation team was designated comprising three staff members and a consultant on a full-time basis, and one staff member and a consultant on a part-time basis. Other officers of the Secretariat are assisting as required.
2.2
On 22 December 1992 the Secretary General wrote to the Governments of Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and the United States of America (designated as Observer States for the purposes of this investigation), inter alia, informing them of the dates and procedures for the read-out of the flight recorders, and seeking their agreement for the ICAO team to visit their respective States on an information-gathering exercise.
3.
FLIGHT RECORDER READ-OUT
3.1
In the light of an earlier arrangement reached in 1983, it was decided that the read-out of the CVR and DFDR tapes would take place in France. Accordingly, on 7 January 1993 an agreement was signed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of France and the ICAO Representative, European and North Atlantic Office, which provided for ICAO to rely upon the know-how and technical resources of the Bureau Enquêtes-Accidents (BEA) in Paris for the read-out and processing of the flight recorders. The agreement stipulates that the French experts shall work under the aegis of ICAO. Other provisions include those on confidentiality, transportation and safekeeping of the tapes, and the type of work to be performed.
3.2
The ICAO team arrived in Paris on 7 January 1993. The next day, the Secretary General joined the team for a meeting at the ICAO European and North Atlantic Office with representatives of the Government of the Russian Federation, and later with representatives of all four Observer States. He signed, on behalf of ICAO, an agreement with the Government of the Russian Federation by which the latter undertook "to transfer to ICAO possession of the original and unaltered CVR and DFDR tapes"; procedural matters concerning the safety and security of the tapes were also addressed. Accordingly, the tapes were handed over by the Government of the Russian Federation at a meeting attended by representatives of the other Observer States and in the presence of members of the press.