AirAsia QZ8501: A look at the recovery efforts nearly 2 weeks after crash

Pangkalan Bun Indonesia: An AirAsia jetliner crashed into the Java Sea on Dec. 28, killing all 162 crew and passengers on board the two-hour flight from Surabaya, Indonesia to Singapore. A massive international search team has hunting for bodies and wreckage. The efforts have been hindered by seasonal monsoon rains that on many days prevent divers and high-tech equipment from making progress. A look at what’s known about the crash and recovery efforts. SEARCH FOR BLACK BOXES: This week, divers and an unmanned underwater vehicle were able to capture the first images of the wreck. The tail of the Airbus A320, partially buried in the sand of the shallow waters, provided a boost to searchers. However, poor weather made it impossible for divers to get a closer look. Officials are confident the cockpit voice and flight data recorders are still in the aircraft’s rear, and experts hope to use a crane or a lifting balloon to hoist the wreckage from the seabed. CRASH INVESTIGATION: It remains unclear what caused AirAsia Flight 8501 to go down. The last contact the pilots had with air traffic control indicated they were entering stormy weather. They asked to climb from 32,000 feet (9,753 meters) to 38,000 feet (11,582 meters) to avoid threatening clouds, but were denied permission because of heavy air traffic above them. Four minutes later, the plane dropped off the radar. Floating bodies and pieces of debris were found about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the last point of contact. The black boxes are key to the investigation. [caption id=“attachment_2038127” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Indonesia Navy Divers during the hunt for AirAsia flight QZ8501. AP[/caption] STATUS OF THOSE MISSING: So far, 48 of the 162 passengers and crew on board the AirAsia plane have been recovered, with four new bodies discovered on Friday. A few have been found floating while still strapped to their seats, but officials say many of those still missing are likely entombed in the fuselage. The bodies are sent to Surabaya for identification and handed over to their families for burial, but the process is becoming more difficult due to decomposition. CRASH LOCATION: The plane went down in the Java Sea, with bodies and wreckage found about 160 kilometers (100 miles) from Pangkalan Bun on Borneo island, the closest town. The area is being lashed by seasonal rains, causing big waves and murky runoff from rivers that have hampered divers, helicopters and equipment being used to search for the plane. Ships with sonar detectors have identified several large chunks of what is believed to be the AirAsia plane’s body on the ocean floor, but visuals have not been captured. Associated Press