Officials carry an ice chest containing one of the two black boxes.
The recording device is stored in water to prevent corrosion. This story was reported by Sylvia Adcock, Al Baker, Bill Bleyer, Rick Brand, Matthew Cox, Ken Fireman, Joe Haberstroh, Robert E. Kessler, Jessica Kowal, Chau Lam, Earl Lane, Jerry Markon, Molly McCarthy, Elizabeth Moore, Paul Moses, Samson Mulugeta, Shirley E. Perlman, Montgomery Phan, Amy Polacko, Jordan Rau, Michael Slackman, Lauren Terrazzano, Steve Wick, Ellen Yan and Charles V. Zehren. It was written by Geoffrey Mohan. Divers were attempting to hoist them aboard the Navy salvage ship Grasp last night, and planned to fly them immediately to Washington. Last night's breakthrough came as investigators moved to a 24-hour recovery operation and capped a day in which relatives of the victims and elected officials criticized the methods and manners of the Navy and National Transportation Safety Board, and President Bill Clinton announced he would meet with increasingly irate families this morning.