The Canadian-built CRJ-100 was heading for Minsk with 18 passengers and three crew members on board when it slid off the runway at the Zvarnots Airport, about 10 km (six miles) west of Yerevan, one wing hitting the ground, the aircraft splitting into two parts and catching fire.
Gayane Davtyan, a spokesman for the main department of the Armenian Civil Aviation said, "Three representatives of the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) took the black box recorder to Moscow, where it will be decoded."
She said the decision to take the black box recorder to the Russian capital was made because the IAC head department is located in Moscow and it has the necessary equipment for decoding, which Yerevan does not have.
The aircraft belongs to the Belarusian state-owned airline, Belavia. Specialists from the airline are on their way to the crash site along with Belarusian Transport Ministry representatives.
