Page:NTSB Aircraft Accident Report, United Airlines Flight 389.pdf/16

 recovered as one piece, and the rear cover of the recorder were the only portions recovered. None of the recording medium, an Inconel (stainless steel with high nickel content) tape has been recovered. The two portions of the recorder case were recovered in two locations within the main wreckage area.

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The main wreckage area was located on September 2, 1965, and the center plotted as 87°27' 56" West - 42°15' 02" North. Several thousand pounds of floating material were recovered from the lake in the three days following the accident but little else until the discovery of the main wreckage area. Recovery operations were discontinued December 21, 1965, with approximately 82 percent of the wreckage by weight, and all occupants of the aircraft recovered.

Search and recovery operations were resumed June 17, 1966, and terminated September 25, 1966. Particular emphasis was given to the recovery of the flight recorder, the flight recorder tape, and the missing portions of the No. 3 engine. No flight recorder parts or tape were recovered during this search. One small piece of an engine case was recovered with a small section of flange mounting and case splice attached. Approximately 1,500 pounds of additional wreckage was recovered, consisting mostly of wing skin and small fuselage parts.

Included in the floating wreckage recovered in the first three days were honeycomb material from the outboard ailerons, trailing edge flaps, and spoilers, portions of the fiberglass tall cone, passenger seats, and seat cushions. The wreckage recovered from the lake bottom included the main portion of the empennage, the landing gears, portions of all entrance doors, three of