Black boxes from Thai air disaster found

Two black boxes from a Thai passenger jet, that crashed in Phuket, are found at the crash site.

Two black boxes from a Thai passenger jet, that crashed on the resort island of Phuket, killing 88 people, have been found at the crash site, the airline and officials said on Monday.

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"I can confirm that the two black boxes were found a few hours after the crash," said Udom Tantiprasongchai, president of budget carrier One-Two-Go, which operated the doomed MD-82 plane.

"The two black boxes are in the hands of the investigators," he told AFP, referring to the Department of Aviation.

Thai Transport Minister Thira Haocharoen told reporters that the two flight recorders would either be sent to the United States or Australia for analysis, with the results due within two weeks.

"The plane had been used for 12 years and normally, any plane could surely serve flights for at least 15 years," he said.

"We have to admit that weather conditions were really bad -- it is something beyond people's control."

One-Two-Go's MD-82 passenger jet, carrying 123 mostly foreign passengers and seven crew, skidded off the runway and burst into flames Sunday afternoon while attempting to land in driving rain and heavy winds.

Aviation officials have blamed the accident on poor visibility and bad weather.