By David Shepardson

(Reuters) –The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said that it would assist Chinese investigators in downloading the cockpit voice recorder from a China Eastern Airlines (NYSE) Boeing (NYSE) 737-800 aircraft. It sent a group of U.S. officials to China.

The U.S. safety panel told Reuters they were helping China’s Civil Aviation Administration with “the download of the cockpit recorder from China Eastern flight 5735 to our laboratory in Washington.”

China’s willingness to help Washington with a critical piece of evidence shows its urgency in investigating the matter. This comes at a difficult time for both countries.

All 132 people aboard the aircraft were killed when it crashed into a hillside in China on March 21. This was China’s most deadly aviation tragedy in 28 years. The second black box, the flight data recorder, was found in the wreckage by rescuers.

Investigators will most likely be able to access details from the cockpit voice recorder, which provides information about communications between flight pilots. This is more than what is required for a Boeing plane.

NTSB earlier Friday announced that three NTSB investigators were on their way to China as part of the investigation into the crash. NTSB stated that investigators would limit interaction with others outside the scope of their investigation, similar to Beijing Olympics’ safety protocols. They will be able to immediately begin working without having to wait for quarantine.

Sathya, an NTSB senior investigator in aviation accidents and U.S.-accredited representative, is part of the team.

A spokesperson for the NTSB stated that the U.S. delegation was on board a commercial plane. The exact time the team will arrive at the China crash site and how long they will stay there are not known. However, it is possible that the trip could take several weeks.

NTSB said that a small Boeing team was also on the ground in China as part of its investigation.

The NTSB is allowed to take part in this event under an international agreement. This is because the aircraft was built and designed in America.

The Chinese state media will be reporting on Thursday that the accident caused by the collision must be investigated as quickly as possible. This was following a meeting held in Beijing of China’s top decision-making body headed by President Xi Jinping.

According to a state media report, seven members of China’s Communist Party’s Standing Committee said that the information about the crash needs to be published in an open, transparent, and timely fashion.

State media stated that a nationwide inspection of safety should be conducted to avoid the possibility of accidents. State media stated that if accidents occur due to negligence, those responsible will be penalized and the top officials involved will be investigated.