MH17 voice recorder in good condition, say aviation experts

The cockpit voice recorder of the Malaysian airliner downed over Ukraine is in good condition, the UN civil aviation body said on Wednesday, adding that it was holding talks with airlines and states on how to assess the danger posed by conflicts.

Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 was shot down by a missile over eastern Ukraine last week, killing almost 300 people. The plane crashed in territory held by Russian-backed separatists, raising fears the wreckage might be tampered with.

Officials from the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization are helping Ukrainian and Dutch authorities probe the crash. Most of the victims on the Amsterdam-Kuala Lumpur flight were Dutch.

"The cockpit voice recorder is in good condition ... the digital flight data recorder is still under review," ICAO said in a statement.

The Dutch Safety Board, which is leading the international inquiry into the crash, said earlier in the day there was no evidence the voice recorder had been tampered with.

Britain said on Wednesday it had taken delivery of the two recorders, a day after a senior rebel leader in Ukraine handed them over to Malaysian experts.