One of the data recorders from the crashed AirAsia flight Qz8501 has been discovered and taken to Jakarta for further investigation; results are expected to be heard by the end of this month.
According to BBC, both black boxes were found, but only one was removed from the ocean. As expected, the recorders were found under the wing of the plane. The second box is currently trapped at 32 meters beneath heavy wreckage. Indonesian officials are hopeful the recorders will help confirm previous investigations about the flight’s demise on Dec. 28, killing all 162 people on board.
Speaking in Jakarta, the head of Indonesia’s search and rescue agency Bambang Soelistyo told reporters: “I received information from the National Transport Safety Committee chief that at 07:11 (00:11 GMT), we succeeded in bringing up part of the black box that we call the flight data recorder.”
The two recorders, usually housed inside the rear part of the plane, are designed to survive a crash and being submerged in water. They contain underwater locator beacons which emit so-called “pings” for at least 30 days.
Supriyadi, operations co-ordinator for Indonesia’s search and rescue agency, said that based on initial analysis of the wreckage, the plane could have “exploded” upon landing on the water.
“The cabin was pressurised and before the pressure of the cabin could be adjusted, it went down – boom. That explosion was heard in the area,” he was quoted as saying by AFP news agency.
However an investigator at the National Transportation, Santoso Sayogo, later told Reuters there was “no data to support that kind of theory.”
TNI divers with Basarnas finally lift #AirAsia8501 black box from the bottom of the sea. Congratulations for all them pic.twitter.com/NZp9dQVoMd
— Moeldoko (@GeneralMoeldoko) January 12, 2015
France’s air safety agency BEA is expected to help with the analysis of the recordings. While early results of the entire investigation can take up to a month, a more detailed report should be completed in a year.
SOURCE: BBC | VIDEO CREDIT: News Inc.
