Air Asia: Second black box retrieved (updated)

The cockpit voice recorder from the AirAsia plane that crashed into the Java Sea last month was recovered Tuesday and taken to an Indonesian navy ship, an official said. Divers had already retrieved the other black box, the flight data recorder, from the sea on Monday.

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11:15

Data from undamaged black boxes can be retrieved and analysed fairly quickly, but we may not find out the results for some time, according to AFP:

Officials have said they believe the flight data recorder is in good condition and it has already been flown to Jakarta.

Indonesia's National Transport Safety Committee said the boxes would undergo a lengthy analysis in the capital, with the help of a team of experts including from France and manufacturer Airbus.

The committee has said a preliminary report on the accident will be produced within a month, and a final report after a year.

Tuesday morning

Cockpit voice recorder recovered from crashed AirAsia jet: official

Pangkalan Bun, Indonesia, Jan 13, 2015, AFP – The cockpit voice recorder from the AirAsia plane that crashed into the Java Sea last month carrying 162 people was recovered Tuesday and taken to an Indonesian navy ship, an official said.

"The CVR (cockpit voice recorder) has been found and lifted from the sea," said an official involved with the search, who requested anonymity.

The official added that the device had been taken to the navy ship Banda Aceh.

Divers had already retrieved the other black box, the flight data recorder, from the sea on Monday.

The recorders hold vital information about the last moments of flight QZ8501, which crashed on December 28 as it flew from Indonesia's Surabaya to Singapore, and will help investigators to find out what caused the accident.

Monday's stories

13:30

Indonesia retrieves crashed AirAsia jet's flight data recorder

Pangkalan Bun, Indonesia, AFP – Indonesian divers Monday retrieved the flight data recorder of the AirAsia plane that went down in the Java Sea a fortnight ago with 162 people on board, a crucial breakthrough that should help explain what caused the crash.

The recorder, one of two black boxes containing vital information, was brought to the surface at 7:11 am (0011 GMT), said national search and rescue chief Bambang Soelistyo, after a lengthy, frustrating search often hampered by bad weather.

"We succeeded in bringing up part of the black box that we call the flight data recorder," Soelistyo told reporters in the capital Jakarta.

He said that it was found under the wreckage of a wing and added that divers were still hunting for the second black box, the cockpit voice recorder.

National Transport Safety Committee senior investigator Mardjono Siswosuwarno told AFP that the black boxes would be sent to Jakarta and analysed at the committee's laboratory.

The flight data recorder monitors factors such as airspeed and heading, while the cockpit voice recorder stores radio transmissions and sounds in the cockpit.

Indonesian military chief Moeldoko expressed confidence that rescuers would retrieve the second black box, the cockpit voice recorder, saying it was emitting strong "ping" signals. Officials believe it is about 20 metres (65 feet) from the first.

"The signal is very strong, so I am sure we can find it," Moeldoko told reporters aboard navy ship KRI Banda Aceh.

Morning story

AirAsia "black box found"

Jakarta, AFP – AFP reports that divers have found the black box of the crashed AirAsia jet.

But they failed to retrieve it because it was stuck under debris from the main body of the plane, it added.

"The navy divers in the Jadayat state boat have succeeded in finding a very important instrument, the black box of AirAsia QZ8501," said Tonny Budiono, a senior ministry official.

The recorders were at a depth of 30-32 metres, he said in a statement.

Divers will today (Monday) try to shift the position of the wreckage to access the black box.

"However, if this effort fails, then the team will lift part of the main body using the same balloon technique used earlier to lift the tail," Budiono added.

Earlier it was reported that strong ping signals were being picked up by three vessels involved in the search in the Java Sea, but, according to S.B Supriyadi, a director with the National Search and Rescue Agency  powerful currents had again frustrated military divers in their search and they had to call off their efforts before sunset.

The signals were coming from the seabed less than one kilometre from where the tail of the plane was found, Malaysian Navy chief Abdul Aziz Jaafar said in a post on Twitter. Malaysia's Navy is helping in the search.

Supriyadi told reporters earlier in the day that an object believed to be the plane's main body had also been detected near the source of the pings.

The search, which has involved US, Chinese and other international naval ships, has recovered 48 bodies so far.

Supriyadi said many bodies were believed trapped in the cabin, so reaching that part of the wreckage was also a top priority.

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