Main PageAirAsia crash: Indonesia expands search for bodies
Pangkalan Bun - Recovery teams expanded their
search in the Java Sea on Monday as they raced to
find bodies and wreckage from AirAsia Flight
QZ8501, which they fear have drifted in rough
weather that has hampered operations over the past
week.
As the massive relief operation entered its ninth day,
officials were hopeful for a break in poor conditions
to send divers down to the area where large parts of
the crashed Airbus A320-200 have been found.
Only 34 bodies have so far been recovered from the
disaster scene. A total of 162 people were onboard
when the plane crashed into the sea during on a
storm on 28 December, en route from the
Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore.
"Hopefully the weather is good today so that the
ROVs [remotely-operated underwater vehicles] and
other instruments can be used and our divers can
go to the seabed again," search and rescue official
SB Supriyadi told AFP.
He said he was hopeful they would find "all the
parts" of the aircraft Monday and get its exact co-
ordinates underwater.
Fifth large chunk of the plane
"Yesterday when our divers went down, the visibility
was very bad," Supriyadi added.
Recovery crews nonetheless made some progress
on Sunday, retrieving four more bodies and locating
a fifth large chunk of the plane.
The discoveries came after Indonesia's
meterological agency said ice likely caused the
plane's engine to stall, and as the pilot's daughter
urged the public not to blame her father.
Searchers are hunting for the "black box" flight data
recorders to determine the cause of the crash.
Supriyadi said the search, which is being assisted by
several countries including the United States and
Russia, would expand eastwards Monday on
suspicions that strong currents have caused parts of
the plane to drift.
Several aircraft were making their way from
Pangkalan Bun, a town on the island of Borneo with
the nearest airstrip to the wreckage, to scour the
sea's surface. Speed boats were sweeping the
coastline for signs of bodies that may have drifted to
shore.
Hope to find black boxes
Supriyadi said the team was assessing whether to lift
the discovered plane parts off the seabed or just
find the "black box" flight data recorders.
"We hope to find the black boxes as soon as
possible," he said.
"If the tail is upside down and the door to the black
box is in the mud, we need to dig the seafloor and
that's difficult. We are hoping the door to the black
box is facing upwards so it is easier for us to fetch
it."
An initial report by Indonesia's meteorological
agency BMKG suggested the weather was the
"triggering factor" behind the accident.
The report referred to infra-red satellite pictures
that showed the plane was passing through cloud
top temperatures of minus 80 to minus 85 degrees
Celsius.
But it remained unclear why other planes on similar
routes were unaffected by the weather, and other
analysts said there was not enough information to
explain the disaster until the flight recorders were
recovered.
Last communication
The operation has prioritised finding the bodies of
the victims, of whom 155 were Indonesian, with
three South Koreans, one Singaporean, one
Malaysian, one Briton and a Frenchman - co-pilot
Remi Plesel.
Some of the bodies have been found still strapped
into their seats.
The daughter of the plane's pilot, Captain Iriyanto,
made a televised plea late on Sunday urging people
not to blame her father.
"He is just a victim and has not been found yet. My
family is now mourning," said Angela Anggi
Ranastianis.
"As a daughter, I cannot accept it. No pilot will harm
his passengers," she told TV One.
In his last communication, experienced former air
force pilot Iriyanto said he wanted to change course
to avoid the menacing storm system. Then all
contact was lost, about 40 minutes after take-off.
Many of the victims' relatives have gathered to wait
for news and prepare funerals in Surabaya, where a
crisis centre has been set up for identifying bodies.
Indonesia has pledged to investigate alleged flight
violations by AirAsia, saying the aircraft had been
flying on an unauthorised schedule when it crashed.
The airline has now been suspended from flying the
Surabaya-Singapore route.
search in the Java Sea on Monday as they raced to
find bodies and wreckage from AirAsia Flight
QZ8501, which they fear have drifted in rough
weather that has hampered operations over the past
week.
As the massive relief operation entered its ninth day,
officials were hopeful for a break in poor conditions
to send divers down to the area where large parts of
the crashed Airbus A320-200 have been found.
Only 34 bodies have so far been recovered from the
disaster scene. A total of 162 people were onboard
when the plane crashed into the sea during on a
storm on 28 December, en route from the
Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore.
"Hopefully the weather is good today so that the
ROVs [remotely-operated underwater vehicles] and
other instruments can be used and our divers can
go to the seabed again," search and rescue official
SB Supriyadi told AFP.
He said he was hopeful they would find "all the
parts" of the aircraft Monday and get its exact co-
ordinates underwater.
Fifth large chunk of the plane
"Yesterday when our divers went down, the visibility
was very bad," Supriyadi added.
Recovery crews nonetheless made some progress
on Sunday, retrieving four more bodies and locating
a fifth large chunk of the plane.
The discoveries came after Indonesia's
meterological agency said ice likely caused the
plane's engine to stall, and as the pilot's daughter
urged the public not to blame her father.
Searchers are hunting for the "black box" flight data
recorders to determine the cause of the crash.
Supriyadi said the search, which is being assisted by
several countries including the United States and
Russia, would expand eastwards Monday on
suspicions that strong currents have caused parts of
the plane to drift.
Several aircraft were making their way from
Pangkalan Bun, a town on the island of Borneo with
the nearest airstrip to the wreckage, to scour the
sea's surface. Speed boats were sweeping the
coastline for signs of bodies that may have drifted to
shore.
Hope to find black boxes
Supriyadi said the team was assessing whether to lift
the discovered plane parts off the seabed or just
find the "black box" flight data recorders.
"We hope to find the black boxes as soon as
possible," he said.
"If the tail is upside down and the door to the black
box is in the mud, we need to dig the seafloor and
that's difficult. We are hoping the door to the black
box is facing upwards so it is easier for us to fetch
it."
An initial report by Indonesia's meteorological
agency BMKG suggested the weather was the
"triggering factor" behind the accident.
The report referred to infra-red satellite pictures
that showed the plane was passing through cloud
top temperatures of minus 80 to minus 85 degrees
Celsius.
But it remained unclear why other planes on similar
routes were unaffected by the weather, and other
analysts said there was not enough information to
explain the disaster until the flight recorders were
recovered.
Last communication
The operation has prioritised finding the bodies of
the victims, of whom 155 were Indonesian, with
three South Koreans, one Singaporean, one
Malaysian, one Briton and a Frenchman - co-pilot
Remi Plesel.
Some of the bodies have been found still strapped
into their seats.
The daughter of the plane's pilot, Captain Iriyanto,
made a televised plea late on Sunday urging people
not to blame her father.
"He is just a victim and has not been found yet. My
family is now mourning," said Angela Anggi
Ranastianis.
"As a daughter, I cannot accept it. No pilot will harm
his passengers," she told TV One.
In his last communication, experienced former air
force pilot Iriyanto said he wanted to change course
to avoid the menacing storm system. Then all
contact was lost, about 40 minutes after take-off.
Many of the victims' relatives have gathered to wait
for news and prepare funerals in Surabaya, where a
crisis centre has been set up for identifying bodies.
Indonesia has pledged to investigate alleged flight
violations by AirAsia, saying the aircraft had been
flying on an unauthorised schedule when it crashed.
The airline has now been suspended from flying the
Surabaya-Singapore route.
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