Indonesian divers on Monday retrieved the flight data recorder from AirAsia Indonesia Flight QZ8501 from the bottom of the Java Sea, marking the latest breakthrough in the effort to conclusively determine the reason for the December 28 accident that claimed the lives of 162 passengers and crewmembers. Search crews have also located the cockpit voice recorder of the ill-fated Airbus A320-200 under wreckage on the sea floor. Plans call for the search and recovery effort to return to retrieving the CVR tomorrow.
On Saturday search and recovery crews lifted the tail section of the airplane out of the water and handed it over to Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) for examination. Locating the tail section last week at the time marked perhaps the most important breakthrough in the operation because A320s carry their CVRs and FDRs in that part of the airplane. However, searchers found neither device upon retrieval of the section, suggesting they dislodged from the airplane when it hit the ocean’s surface.
Improving weather on Sunday allowed divers to find the FDR near the location of the tail, some 19 miles from the operation’s primary search area. For several days strong currents and poor visibility hindered divers’ search of the area where “pings” emanated from the FDR and CVR, some 100 feet below the surface. Sonar equipment has also detected several more large pieces of the airplane, including a wing, engine parts and what officials believe is the front fuselage section. On Sunday recovery teams had found no more bodies, many of which likely remain trapped inside the fuselage. To date, Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) has reported the recovery of 48 bodies.
Jakarta air traffic control lost contact with the Airbus A320-200 on the morning of December 28 during a scheduled flight between Surabaya, Indonesia, and Singapore, soon after pilots asked to change course and increase altitude in an effort to avoid bad weather. The flight took off from Juanda International Airport in Surabaya at 05:35 am carrying 155 passengers and seven crewmembers.