FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

News

Video: Downed AirAsia Flight's Black Boxes Have Been Found by Divers

Indonesian investigators also suggested the plane may have exploded directly before impact, though another official from the country suggested that was mere speculation.
Image via Reuters

One of the downed AirAsia plane's "black boxes" has been recovered by divers, while the other has been located, according to Indonesian officials.

Surayadi Bambang Supriyadi, operation coordinator for Indonesia's national search and rescue agency, told AP that the voice recorder was about 66 feet (20 meters) from the data recorder, and both were 105 feet (32m) underwater. The voice recorder lay underneath heavy wreckage, so was taking slightly longer to remove and bring to the surface, he said.

Advertisement

Both boxes are vital for officials hoping to understand what exactly went wrong on the journey. The flight recorder can provide information on airspeed. The cockpit voice recorder, meanwhile, will have data on radio transmissions, along with sounds from the cockpit. This data will be carefully analysed by investigators trying to piece together a timeline of the tragedy.

Speaking about the black boxes, aviation safety expert John Goglia told AP: "There's like 200-plus parameters they record. It's going to provide us an ocean of material."

The Indonesian Navy released new footage of the underwater search.

After analysing the information available so far, some investigators have suggested that the aircraft exploded before it hit the Java Sea, an event that would have been caused by the speed of the descent and the resulting pressure. Supriyadi put this theory forward to the media. "The cabin was pressurized and before the pressure of the cabin could be adjusted, it went down — boom. That explosion was heard in the area," he said.

AirAsia flight QZ8501 goes missing on the way from Indonesia to Singapore. Read more here.

However, others have disputed this as mere speculation. "There is no data to support that kind of theory," Santoso Sayogo, an investigator at Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee, said on Monday morning.

Families of those on board — some of whom have been flown around the search area — have welcomed the discovery of the black boxes, but are hoping that the attention around the find doesn't detract from their main goal: recovering the remains of their loved ones. Eben Tanapurtra, who lost seven family members in the disaster, told CNN that the hunt is far from over. "Please, please, continue the search for the missing bodies," he said. "We understand that the black box is crucial and so important for investigation. But please, do not consider the efforts to find the bodies as a less important thing."

Advertisement

AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes echoed these sentiments, saying that the most important finding would be the fuselage — where the majority of the bodies are believed to be.

We are led to believe Blackbox may ha e been found. Still not confirmed. But strong info coming. But my man thoughts is fuselage.

— Tony Fernandes (@tonyfernandes)January 11, 2015

Bodies and debris from missing AirAsia flight found by Indonesian search and rescue. Read more here.

The search for the plane has been slow and hampered by bad weather. A breakthrough came when the aircraft's tail piece was located, and then removed from the Java Sea on Saturday. It was transported to Pangkalan Bun where Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) could take it for further examination.

AirAsia flight QZ8501 crashed on December 28, killing all 162 people on board — 155 passengers, two pilots and five cabin crew. It was traveling between Surabaya in Indonesia and Singapore, and apparently went missing about 40 minutes after take off, during a period of bad weather. Minutes before contact was lost, the pilot had requested permission to climb to a higher altitude.

Satellite image around time — James Reynolds (@EarthUncutTV)December 28, 2014

48 bodies have been discovered to date. The majority of the passengers were Indonesian, though there were also three South Koreans — two parents and a baby — as well as Singaporean, Malaysian, British, and French citizens on board.

After the AirAsia disaster, industry experts say it's time to overhaul air safety standards. Read more here.

Follow Sally Hayden on Twitter: @sallyhayd