UpdateNo black box 'pings' detected in AirAsia search as officials identify body of flight attendant
A source close to the probe said radar data appeared to show that the aircraft made an “unbelievably” steep climb, possibly pushing the plane beyond its limits.
Authorities revealed they have not heard any signals from the black boxes of downed flight AirAsia QZ8501 even as ships continued to probe the relatively shallow waters of the Java Sea for the wreckage.
So far, just seven bodies and assorted debris such as suitcases and oxygen tanks have been recovered. Authorities today announced that they had identified one of the seven bodies as flight attendant Hayati Lutfiah Hamid.
The search has focused on a large, dark object detected by sonar on the ocean floor, lying just 30-50 metres deep, and which an official said could be the fuselage where more bodies can be found.
Divers were for the second day unable to investigate the object due to rough weather and poor visibility.
The devices - a cockpit voice recorder and flight-data recorder - send out continuous signals, for 30 days, in the event of an accident to help rescuers find a plane.
Committee head Tatang Kurniadi said rescuers would use five ping locators - two from Indonesia, two from Singapore and one from Britain - to help find the black boxes. Toos Sanitiyoso, an air safety investigator with the National Committee for Transportation Safety, said the search could take a week.