Indonesian naval divers recovered a flight data recorder from the bottom of the Java Sea, where a Sriwijaya Air jet crashed over the weekend.
Sriwijaya Air flight SJ 182 was on its way from Jakarta, the country’s capital, to Pontianak with 62 people, including 10 children on board, according to rescue workers. The last time that the plane made contact was at 2:40 p.m. local time on Saturday. The plane dipped more than 10,000 feet in one minute after departing from Jakarta and is thought to have crashed off the island of Java, according to Flightradar24.
Indonesian Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto said that the plane’s “black box,” the device that records flight data and audio from the cockpit, will likely be found soon. The device’s beacon was identified in the same area where the other data recorder was found, buried in the seabed under tons of plane wreckage.
At least 160 divers were deployed Tuesday in the waters around Jakarta to look for wreckage, in addition to the more than 3,600 rescue personnel, 13 helicopters, and 74 marine vessels aiding the recovery efforts.
Tjahjanto said Sunday that human remains and scraps of clothing were found among broken pieces of the fuselage as hope for finding survivors diminishes. Rescuers have sent 74 body bags containing human remains to be identified. Okky Bisma, a 29-year-old flight attendant, was the first victim to be identified.
“My husband is a loving, devout and super kind man,” Alda Refa, Bisma’s wife, posted on Instagram after he was identified. “Heaven is your place, dear … be peaceful there.”
Indonesia’s National Police disaster victims identification unit said that family members have provided DNA samples to aid the identification of victims, noting that the co-pilot and two other victims had also been identified.
Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee will conduct an investigation into what caused the airliner to crash.
The plane was a Boeing 737-500, not a Max plane involved in two major accidents that killed hundreds. The 26-year-old jet was previously used by U.S. airlines and was deemed “airworthy” by Sriwijaya Air CEO Jefferson Irwin Jauwena. The flight had been delayed Saturday, but officials said the delay was due to inclement weather, not damage to the plane or equipment malfunctions.
NTSC Chairman Soerjanto Tjahjono said a midair breakup was not likely based on the condition of the wreckage, instead concluding that the jet was intact until it crashed into the Java Sea.
