The front side of debris resembling an aircraft window panel recovered by Singapore Navy is seen in this handout photo provided by Singapore's Ministry of Defence, released to Reuters.
Search vessels and aircraft prepared to hunt for more bodies and debris of AirAsia flight QZ8501 today, which crashed into the sea a week ago. – Reuters pic, January 4, 2015.Thirty bodies of the mostly Indonesian passengers and crew have so far been recovered, including some still strapped in their seats. Many more may be still trapped in the fuselage of the aircraft, media reports said today.
Indonesian officials believe they are close to a major breakthrough after pinpointing four large objects on the sea floor thought to be parts of the Airbus A320-200 that crashed a week ago with 162 people on board.The suspected wreckage is lying in water around 30 metres deep, which experts say should make it relatively straightforward to recover if the rough weather that has hampered the search all week abates, Reuters reported. - See more at:
Efforts to capture images with remote operated vehicles (ROVs) were frustrated yesterday by poor visibility, but officials hope to send down divers today, including a Russian team that headed to the target site during the night.
Speaking at a morning briefing for pilots, Air Force Lt Col Johnson Supriadi said efforts would be divided between recovering bodies and locating wreckage and the all-important cockpit voice and flight data recorders.
"Weather should provide the search effort with a window of opportunity today, with lower waves expected for the next two days," said Rukman Soleh, weather bureau chief in Pangkalan Bun, the southern Borneo town where the search operation is based.
Flight QZ8501 crashed into the Java Sea last Sunday, about 40 minutes after taking off from Indonesia's second largest city Surabaya en route for Singapore. There were no survivors.
Until investigators can examine the black box flight recorders the cause of the crash remains unknown, but the area is known for intense seasonal storms and Indonesia's meteorological bureau has said bad weather was likely a factor.
A source close to the investigation told Reuters radar data appeared to show the aircraft made an "unbelievably" steep climb before it crashed, possibly pushing it beyond the A320's limits.
The Indonesian captain, a former air force fighter pilot, had 6,100 flying hours on the A320 and the plane last underwent maintenance in mid-November, according to Indonesia AirAsia, 49% owned by Malaysia-based AirAsia.
The crash was the first fatal accident suffered by the AirAsia budget group, whose Indonesian affiliate flies from at least 15 destinations across the sprawling archipelago.
The airline has come under pressure from Indonesian authorities, who have suspended its Surabaya to Singapore operations saying the carrier only had a licence to fly the route on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Indonesia AirAsia said it would co-operate with the transport ministry while it investigates the licence. – Reuters, January 4, 2015.
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