The black box in the plane that crashed in Mangalore on Saturday is still untraceable even though 60 hours have elapsed since the accident.
The black box (digital flight data recorder) is a key to determining the causes of the crash.
However, the other vital element, the cockpit
voice recorder, was recovered on Sunday.
It was handed over to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to be taken to Delhi for investigation.
A senior official of the Airports Authority of India said there was a possibility that the black box may have got rocketed away and there was a need for combing operations in the surrounding areas of the crash site, which is covered with thick vegetation.
He said more areas would be searched on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, a team of four experts from Kenyon International Emergency Service, US, arrived here on Monday to assist in the search operations.
However, they refused to comment on the situation.
They will be working with the DGCA.
Air India has hired Kenyon to handle recovery and claims of baggage and documentation at Mangalore.
As many as 120 police personnel have been deployed round the clock to provide security to the area apart from assisting the DGCA personnel.
Mangalore Commissioner of Police Seemanth Kumar Singh told Hindustan Times that the police were looking after the security of the site and help the authorities in their search operations.