Divers retrieved the second “black box” for crashed AirAsia Flight QZ8501 from the Java Sea yesterday, giving experts essential tools to piece together what brought the aircraft down.
The cockpit voice recorder was freed from beneath the remnants of a wing at a depth of about 30m, a day after the aircraft’s flight data recorder was recovered, Indonesian Ministry of Transportation sea navigation director Tonny Budiono said.
“Thank God,” he said. “This is good news for investigators to reveal the cause of the plane crash.”
Photo: AFP
The device was to be flown to the capital, Jakarta, to be analyzed with the other black box, a process that could take up to two weeks. Since it records in a two-hour loop, all discussions between the captain and copilot should be available.
The aircraft disappeared from radar less than halfway into a two-hour flight from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore on Dec. 28 last year. It was carrying 162 people, but just 48 bodies have been recovered.
The find is the latest boost in the slow-moving hunt in the shallow, murky stretch of ocean.
Over the weekend, the tail of the Airbus A320 was recovered. The black boxes are normally inside the tail, but were missing when the wreckage was pulled to the surface.
The devices were located after three Indonesian ships detected strong “pings” being emitted from their beacons, about 20m apart. Strong currents, large waves and blinding silt have hindered divers’ efforts throughout the search, but they took advantage of calmer early morning conditions on Monday and yesterday to recover the instruments.
The information obtained from the black boxes — which are actually orange — is likely be vital. Designed to survive extreme heat and pressure, they should provide investigators with a second-by-second timeline of the flight.
The voice recorder is designed to capture all conversations between the pilots and with air traffic controllers, as well as any noises in the cockpit, including possible alarms or explosions.
The flight data recorder saves information on the position and condition of almost every major part in the aircraft, including altitude, airspeed, direction, engine thrust and rate of ascent or descent.
In their last contact with air traffic controllers, the pilots asked to climb from 9,750m to 11,580m to avoid threatening clouds, but were denied permission because of heavy air traffic. Four minutes later, the aircraft disappeared. No distress signal was received.
Searchers also have been trying to locate the main section of the aircraft’s cabin, where many of the victims are believed to be entombed.
Decomposition is making identification more difficult for desperate families waiting to bury their loved ones. Nearly all passengers and crew were Indonesian.
“I still believe many victims remain trapped there,” Indonesian National Armed Forces Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Moeldoko said. “And we must find them.”
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