Indonesia confirms finding tail of AirAsia plane
On January 7, Indonesia said it had found the tail of AirAsia flight QZ8501.VahThis is likely to be a major step forward in identifying the plane's black boxes and helping to understand the cause of the tragic accident 10 days ago.
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| The latest debris of flight QZ8501 was found during the search operation in the Java Sea on January 6. Photo: AFP/TTXVN |
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The black box - the flight data recorder, which is important in determining the cause of the crash - is usually located in the tail of the plane.
"We have succeeded in recovering the long-sought part of the plane. We have confirmed that we have found the tail," search and rescue chief Bambang Soelistyo told reporters in Jakarta.
The plane disappeared from radar screens during a storm on the morning of December 28 while flying from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore, carrying 162 people, most of them Indonesians.
A large-scale rescue operation involving several countries has been launched, but progress has been slow due to bad weather. So far, 39 bodies have been found, all of them drifting at sea.
Previously, officials in charge of the operation said they had discovered five large pieces of the plane but had not confirmed which parts they were.
"I am confident the tail has been found. If it is the right tail, the black box is in there," AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes wrote on Twitter after the announcement.
"We need to find other debris soon so we can find all the passengers and ease the pain for their families. This remains our priority."
Indonesian authorities believe the plane was flying on an unapproved flight schedule when it crashed and AirAsia has since been suspended from flying the Surabaya-Singapore route.
According to Vietnam+
