USCG Ends Search For El Faro Black Box

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) _ Search crews have ended their search of a cargo ship’s wreckage deep in the Atlantic without finding the vessel’s “black box.”

The National Transportation Safety Board on Monday that investigators are disappointed the El Faro’s voyage data recorder was not found.

NTSB Chairman Christopher Hart said in a statement that the agency is still hopeful investigators can determine a probable cause for the ship’s sinking.

The 790-foot freighter sank on Oct. 1 after it lost engine power and got stuck in a Category 4 hurricane on its way from Jacksonville to Puerto Rico.

The board said recently it had located the ship and its bridge, which had separated, in 15,000 feet of water.

The NTSB says a Navy submarine searching the area could not find the ship’s mast, where the recorder was mounted.