An aerial photo shows a tail section of the AirAsia flight QZ8501 on the deck of a Crest Onyx ship as the search for black boxes of the aircraft continues.(Photo: ZULKARNAIN, AFP/Getty Images)
Teams searching for the missing black boxes of the AirAsia plane that crashed in the Java Sea believe they have located the main fuselage of the missing aircraft, Reuters reported Sunday.
Supriyadi, the operations coordinator for Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency, said a sonar scan revealed an object measuring 33ft by 13ft by 8ft on the sea floor, the news agency said. Teams were checking the find on Sunday.
"They suspect it is the body of the plane. There is a big possibility that the black box is near the body of the plane," Supriyad, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, told Reuters. "A team of divers has already been sent to prove this data. The diving operation has started."
It came as more pings were detected over an area spanning from 1.6 miles to 2.4 miles from the location of the jet's rear.
Officials cautioned it was too soon to know if the sounds were coming from the cockpit voice and flight data recorders, which detached from the tail of when the aircraft plummeted into the sea Dec. 28, killing all 162 people on board.
"It was detected within a wide area, which needs to be combed by divers," said Nurcahyo Utomo, an investigator with Indonesia's National Commission for Transportation Safety. "Right now, I would not dare to say if it's from the black boxes."
He said the weather allowed work to continue in the morning, but that strong currents and high waves, which generally worsen in the afternoon, could prevent divers from thoroughly searching the area.
AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes tweeted Sunday: "We are led to believe Blackbox may have been found. Still not confirmed. But strong info coming."
On Saturday, crews successfully lifted the plane's tail piece from the water. It has been taken to Pangkalan Bun, the nearest town, and will be handed over to Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee for investigation, the airline said in a statement.
The black boxes were not found still attached. Their beacons emit signals for about 30 days until the batteries die, meaning divers have about two weeks left before they go silent.
Some 48 bodies have been recovered so far, the National Search and Rescue Agency said in a statement Sunday.
Contributing: Associated Press
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