Could Take A Week To Find AirAsia Black Boxes
Investigators say it could take a week to recover AirAsia Flight QZ8501's black box flight recorders as rough seas continue to hamper the search.
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The Airbus A320-200 was carrying 162 people when it disappeared in a storm while flying from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore on Sunday.
Two more bodies have been recovered from the Java Sea, off Borneo, bringing the total to 10. They were taken to Surabaya where distraught relatives have gathered to identify the dead.
AirAsia Indonesia's chief executive Sunu Widyatmoko wept as authorities handed over the body of the first identified victim, Hayati Luthfiah Hamid, to family members.
The 49-year-old was buried in Desa Sawotratap, a few miles from the city, at an Islamic ceremony attended by relatives and neighbours.
Three members of her family were also on board the doomed plane.
Searches on Thursday spanned an area of 5,200 square miles and involved 19 ships, four helicopters and five planes, said Fransiskus Bambang Soelistyo, head of Indonesia's Search and Rescue Agency.
A pilot has spotted a large shadow in the sea, which may be the wreckage, but the sighting is not yet confirmed.
"Until now, there hasn't been a confirmed finding or sonar image of the plane body underwater," Mr Soelistyo said.
Nearly 50 divers are waiting for calmer weather before they go down to investigate.
Toos Sanitiyoso, from the National Committee for Transportation Safety, said better weather is expected in five days and it could take a week to find the black boxes, which are crucial to determining the cause of the crash.
The sea where the shadow was spotted is around 50 metres deep, meaning divers will be able to get to it without specialist equipment.
Investigators are working on a theory that the plane stalled as it climbed steeply to avoid a storm, about 40 minutes into the two-hour flight.
"What is most difficult is finding the location where the plane fell - checking whether the aircraft is really there," said frogman commander Lieutenant Edi Tirkayasa.
"With weather like this, who knows? We are still hopeful and optimistic that they'll find it. They must."
As well as the 10 bodies, debris including suitcases, an emergency slide, a lifejacket and part of an AirAsia trolley have been recovered from waters near the suspected crash site.
The plane was travelling at 32,000ft and the pilot had asked to fly at 38,000ft to avoid bad weather.
When air traffic controllers granted permission for a rise to 34,000ft a few minutes later, they received no response.
A source close to the investigation said radar data appeared to show the aircraft made an "unbelievably" steep climb before it crashed.
Credit: Sky News