Air New Zealand is not giving up hope that the damaged black boxes retrieved from the wreckage of the Air New Zealand Airbus A320 can help explain what led to its crash.
Five New Zealanders and two German pilots are presumed to have died when the four-year-old Airbus crashed into the Mediterranean while on a test flight on Thursday.
The crash occurred at 4.46pm local time when the plane was approaching the airport at the French city of Perpignan after the hour-long flight.
French navy divers retrieved a third body from the wreckage on Monday.
They also recovered the flight data recorder, which stores information about the plane's movements.
The cockpit voice recorder was recovered on Saturday, but both it and the flight data recorder are badly damaged.
Air New Zealand international general manager Ed Sims remains hopeful that some data might be extracted, as "black boxes" are built to withstand force, heat and water.
"Both of these recorders are encased, they're very well protected, and damage to the casing might not of its own necessity imply that there is any damage or deterioration to the quality of the content."
The recorders were originally being sent to Paris for the data to be retrieved, but the boxes were reportedly being sent on to the manufacturer, Honeywell, in North America. Honeywell said it had not yet been asked to assist French authorities but would be prepared to do so.
Duncan Schofield from Honeywell said most crashes can be investigated without the company's intervention because the recorders are built to withstand extreme conditions.
Memorial service 'intensely moving'
Relatives of those on the flight, who have travelled to France, were taken by boat to the scene of the crash on Monday to pay their respects.
Twelve family members and senior Air New Zealand managers attended a memorial service on Monday.
Mr Sims said the service, which included a karakia, was held on the beach.
The families were then taken on a 20-minute boat ride to the crash site.
Flowers and wreaths were then placed at the site, and Air New Zealand staff members performed a haka.
"They described that as the single most intensely moving moment of the last four days," said Mr Sims.
He said the navy search was suspended while the families paid their respects.
Seven more relatives and friends of those who died in the Air New Zealand crash will arrive in France on Wednesday, joining the 14 who made the journey earlier in the week.
They have brought with them items holding DNA which may help identify the victims.
Speculation 'destructive'
Air New Zealand chief executive Rob Fyfe is in France along with New Zealand investigators and relatives of some of the five New Zealanders who were on the flight.
Mr Fyfe said on Monday search conditions had been difficult, as divers had only half-a-metre visibility. He told Morning Report the aircraft wreckage is at a depth of about 40m on seabed which has about about 30cm of mud.
He said speculation about the cause of the crash is very destructive to family members who are eagerly awaiting facts.
Engine cut out, says witness
A witness to the crash said the plane was clearly having engine problems in the moments before it crashed.
Retired aviation mechanic Claude Pedro told Morning Report on Monday he rushed outside when he heard the plane over his village of Canet.
He said the plane's engine stopped, started again briefly, then stopped again. Mr Pedro believes the second engine was not working.
He said someone told him later of seeing smoke coming from the engine.
Air New Zealand chief executive Rob Fyfe told the programme that eyewitness accounts are the least reliable source of information on the cause of a crash.
New Zealanders on fatal flight
An Air New Zealand pilot and three engineers were on the flight, as well as a New Zealand Civil Aviation Authority official and two pilots from German charter airline XL Airways, which had been leasing the plane since 2006.
Air New Zealand staff believed to have been killed are Auckland pilot Captain Brian Horrell, 52, Murray White, 37, an engineer from Auckland, Michael Gyles, 49, and Noel Marsh, both engineers from Christchurch.
The Civil Aviation Authority official was Jeremy Cook, a Wellington engineer.
