IRISH Navy divers have recovered the black box flight recorder from an Irish Coast Guard helicopter that crashed into the Atlantic over a week ago.
No bodies of the three missing crew have been found with the wreckage of of the rescue helicopter 116.
The wreckage was found east of Blackrock island, about 13km off the coast of Co Mayo.
The Sikorsky S-92 is believed to have hit the island before crashing into the sea in the early hours of March 14.
The body of Captain Dara Fitzpatrick, a 45-year-old mother-of-one, is the only one of the four crew to have been recovered from the ocean so far.
The other crew members, Captain Mark Duffy, Winchman Ciaran Smith and Winch Operator Paul Ormsby, remain missing.
The black box recorder was taken from the seabed at 4.30pm yesterday.
Jurgen Whyte, chief inspector with Ireland's Air Accident Investigation Unit (AAIU), said the unit appeared to be in good condition.
"It was always a priority to recover the three crew members however there are protocols within our work - where we see a recorder we are obliged to take the recorder," he said.
"The concern was that if we did not take it at the time we would not get it.
"Now our focus is to continue with the operation to seek and recover the three remaining crew members."
Mr Whyte said there was no external damage to the flight recorder.
Air searches, including with a helicopter and with drones, continued throughout the day while divers were in the water.
Visibility on the seabed was said to be good.
Superintendent Tony Healy said there is nothing to confirm the bodies of the missing crew are with the wreckage.
"Our primary aim is the recovery of the crew and we are working toward that," he said.
Diving continued until darkness fell yesterday.
The black box contains both cockpit voice recordings and data on the history of the flight.
