Indonesia’s search for AirAsia QZ8501 crash victims could end in days

Indonesia's search for dozens of victims still unaccounted for from last month's crash of an AirAsia QZ8501 passenger jet could end within days if no more bodies are found, a senior government official said on Wednesday. The Airbus A320 vanished from radar screens in bad weather over the Java Sea on Dec. 28, less than half-way into a two-hour flight from Surabaya, Indonesia's second-biggest city, to Singapore. All 162 people on board were killed.
Caption: Crew members roll fuel barrels as they prepare helicopters for flights on the deck of Indonesian Navy ship KRI Banda Aceh during a recovery operation for the victims and the fuselage of AirAsia Flight 8501, on the Java Sea, Indonesia Tuesday. Indonesia's military has halted its recovery efforts for the crashed AirAsia plane, including attempts to locate bodies and raise the fuselage from the Java Sea. (AP)

Indonesia's civilian National Search and Rescue Agency said it would scour the sea for bodies for at least another week. "Within one week we will evaluate (our search) depending on the result," agency chief Fransiskus Bambang Soelistyo told reporters. "If we can find one or two more bodies, that means we have the opportunity to prolong the operation."
Caption: Rubber boats carrying divers approach Indonesian Navy ship KRI Banda Aceh during a recovery operation for the victims and the fuselage of AirAsia Flight QZ 8501, on the Java Sea, Indonesia, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2015. Indonesia's military has halted its recovery efforts for the crashed AirAsia plane, including attempts to locate bodies and raise the fuselage from the Java Sea. (AP)

The military withdrew from the search on Tuesday, apologising to the victims' families for not being able to do more after a month of work. A multinational search and recovery operation has found 70 bodies in the Java Sea and had hoped to find more after finding the fuselage of the plane. But days of rough weather and poor underwater visibility hampered navy divers' efforts. Divers have recovered both the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder from the sea floor.
Caption: Indonesia soldiers and rescue personnel prepare to put a coffin of a passenger of AirAsia Flight QZ8501 into the cargo compartment of a Trigana airplane at Iskandar airbase in Pangkalan Bun. A preliminary report into last month's crash of the AirAsia passenger jet that killed 162 people will not include an analysis of the black box flight recorders, an Indonesian investigator said on Tuesday. (Reuters)

Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee will submit its initial findings on the crash this week to the International Civil Aviation Organization, though only the final report will be made public. Investigators say they have yet to start their analysis of the aircraft's two "black box" flight recorders and have been compiling other data for the inquiry.
Caption: Crew members carry a body bag containing the body believed to be of a victim of AirAsia Flight QZ 8501 to a waiting helicopter on the deck of Indonesian Navy Ship KRI Banda Aceh, on the Java Sea, Indonesia. The ill-fated jetliner plunged into the java Sea while en route from Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city, to Singapore last month. (AP)

Indonesian Transport Minister Ignasius Jonan has said that, based on radar data, the plane had climbed faster than normal in its final minutes, and then stalled.
Caption: Crew members inspect body bags containing bodies believed to be of the victims of AirAsia Flight QZ 8501 on the deck of Indonesian Navy Ship KRI Banda Aceh, on the Java Sea, Indonesia. The ill-fated jetliner plunged into the java Sea while en route from Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city, to Singapore last month. (AP)

Investigators have found no evidence of foul play.
Caption: Officials of Indonesian Transportation Ministry observe a moment of silence for the victims of AirAsia Flight QZ 8501 prior to a press conference in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2015. Indonesian investigators say the co-pilot of the crashed AirAsia jet was in controls when he struggled to recover the aircraft as stall warnings sounded. (AP)