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| AirAsia Plane Debris and Bodies Found; Little Hope of Any Survivors | AirAsia Plane Debris and Bodies Found; Little Hope of Any Survivors |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| SURABAYA, Indonesia — The mystery of Indonesia’s missing airliner was partly solved on Tuesday, when rescue teams retrieved and tallied a grim inventory of bodies and debris from the plane off the coast of southwestern Borneo. | SURABAYA, Indonesia — The mystery of Indonesia’s missing airliner was partly solved on Tuesday, when rescue teams retrieved and tallied a grim inventory of bodies and debris from the plane off the coast of southwestern Borneo. |
| But it remained unknown what caused the plane, AirAsia Flight 8501, to plunge into the sea on Sunday, less than an hour after taking off from Surabaya bound for Singapore. | But it remained unknown what caused the plane, AirAsia Flight 8501, to plunge into the sea on Sunday, less than an hour after taking off from Surabaya bound for Singapore. |
| Although Indonesian officials did not say so explicitly, their comments on Tuesday suggested that it was unlikely that survivors would be found. | Although Indonesian officials did not say so explicitly, their comments on Tuesday suggested that it was unlikely that survivors would be found. |
| “I am so very sorry for this accident,” Joko Widodo, Indonesia’s president, said before meeting with families of passengers here. “I hope families can stay strong while facing tragedy.” | “I am so very sorry for this accident,” Joko Widodo, Indonesia’s president, said before meeting with families of passengers here. “I hope families can stay strong while facing tragedy.” |
| Throughout the afternoon, the Indonesian authorities built up an inventory of debris collected by ships and helicopters from the sea surface, including life vests, aircraft parts and what appeared to be a small blue suitcase. Indonesian television showed a rescuer descending from a helicopter toward a corpse, which like other bodies found was not wearing a life jacket. | Throughout the afternoon, the Indonesian authorities built up an inventory of debris collected by ships and helicopters from the sea surface, including life vests, aircraft parts and what appeared to be a small blue suitcase. Indonesian television showed a rescuer descending from a helicopter toward a corpse, which like other bodies found was not wearing a life jacket. |
| Search and rescue officials said that three items in particular — the suitcase and parts they identified as an aspirator assembly and a reservoir slide craft — helped them determine that the debris came from Flight 8501. | Search and rescue officials said that three items in particular — the suitcase and parts they identified as an aspirator assembly and a reservoir slide craft — helped them determine that the debris came from Flight 8501. |
| The Indonesian authorities said the pieces of wreckage were found about 60 miles southeast of the last known position of the plane — the opposite direction from the plane’s path. | The Indonesian authorities said the pieces of wreckage were found about 60 miles southeast of the last known position of the plane — the opposite direction from the plane’s path. |
| How the debris came to be there was not immediately explained. But according to Sailing Directions, a mariner’s reference published by the United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, ocean currents in that part of the Java Sea run generally to the southeast from November to March. | How the debris came to be there was not immediately explained. But according to Sailing Directions, a mariner’s reference published by the United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, ocean currents in that part of the Java Sea run generally to the southeast from November to March. |
| Luca Centurioni, a researcher at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego who measures currents around the world, said it would not be surprising for the floating debris to have drifted 60 miles since Sunday morning, especially in unsettled weather. “The currents are not terribly strong,” he said in a telephone interview, “but the waves can be big and the wind can push objects quite a bit.” | Luca Centurioni, a researcher at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego who measures currents around the world, said it would not be surprising for the floating debris to have drifted 60 miles since Sunday morning, especially in unsettled weather. “The currents are not terribly strong,” he said in a telephone interview, “but the waves can be big and the wind can push objects quite a bit.” |
| Search teams also spotted what they said might be a larger submerged piece of the fuselage of the aircraft, an Airbus A320-200 that was operated by an Indonesian affiliate of AirAsia. | Search teams also spotted what they said might be a larger submerged piece of the fuselage of the aircraft, an Airbus A320-200 that was operated by an Indonesian affiliate of AirAsia. |
| “My heart is filled with sadness for all the families involved in QZ 8501,” Tony Fernandes, the head of AirAsia, wrote in a Twitter message soon after the debris was discovered. “On behalf of AirAsia my condolences to all. Words cannot express how sorry I am.” | “My heart is filled with sadness for all the families involved in QZ 8501,” Tony Fernandes, the head of AirAsia, wrote in a Twitter message soon after the debris was discovered. “On behalf of AirAsia my condolences to all. Words cannot express how sorry I am.” |
| Mr. Fernandes said later that he did not want to speculate about the cause of the disaster until the plane’s flight data recorders were recovered and analyzed, though he noted that “bad weather is the short-term conclusion — weather in Southeast Asia is bad now.” | Mr. Fernandes said later that he did not want to speculate about the cause of the disaster until the plane’s flight data recorders were recovered and analyzed, though he noted that “bad weather is the short-term conclusion — weather in Southeast Asia is bad now.” |
| As news spread of the grim discoveries in the sea, some relatives of passengers stood despondently outside the airport in Surabaya. | As news spread of the grim discoveries in the sea, some relatives of passengers stood despondently outside the airport in Surabaya. |
| “I’m still hoping my brother is safe,” said Ifan Joko, standing in a light drizzle outside the terminal where relatives and friends had gathered since Sunday. | “I’m still hoping my brother is safe,” said Ifan Joko, standing in a light drizzle outside the terminal where relatives and friends had gathered since Sunday. |
| His brother, Charly Gunawan, who was traveling to Singapore for the New Year’s holiday, was among the 162 people on board. | |
| “If the passengers are dead, I want the bodies brought back to Surabaya,” Mr. Ifan said. “I will pay the bill myself if I have to.” | “If the passengers are dead, I want the bodies brought back to Surabaya,” Mr. Ifan said. “I will pay the bill myself if I have to.” |
| The crash was a particular loss to Surabaya’s ethnic Chinese minority. Flights from Surabaya to Singapore serve as shuttles for residents here who do business in Singapore or have family members there. The air disaster seems also to have also disproportionately affected Surabaya’s Christian community. | The crash was a particular loss to Surabaya’s ethnic Chinese minority. Flights from Surabaya to Singapore serve as shuttles for residents here who do business in Singapore or have family members there. The air disaster seems also to have also disproportionately affected Surabaya’s Christian community. |
| Leaders of Bethany, a large church in a wealthy neighborhood on the outskirts of Surabaya, pored over the plane’s manifest when it became available on Sunday and determined that at least five passengers were members of families who attend the church. | Leaders of Bethany, a large church in a wealthy neighborhood on the outskirts of Surabaya, pored over the plane’s manifest when it became available on Sunday and determined that at least five passengers were members of families who attend the church. |
| Deddy, one of the church pastors, said the crash was a tragedy for all of Indonesia. “We can guess from the names that many are Christian and Chinese,” he said. | Deddy, one of the church pastors, said the crash was a tragedy for all of Indonesia. “We can guess from the names that many are Christian and Chinese,” he said. |
| If passengers from both the AirAsia plane and Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, the jet that disappeared in March, are included in the calculations, 1,320 people died in air accidents in 2014, the deadliest year since 2005, according to the Bureau of Aircraft Incidents Archives, an organization that tracks aviation accidents. | If passengers from both the AirAsia plane and Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, the jet that disappeared in March, are included in the calculations, 1,320 people died in air accidents in 2014, the deadliest year since 2005, according to the Bureau of Aircraft Incidents Archives, an organization that tracks aviation accidents. |
| But three-fifths of the 1,320 fatalities stemmed from just three disasters: Flight 8501, Flight 370, and Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, which was shot down over eastern Ukraine in July with 298 people aboard. | But three-fifths of the 1,320 fatalities stemmed from just three disasters: Flight 8501, Flight 370, and Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, which was shot down over eastern Ukraine in July with 298 people aboard. |
| Over all, the number of airline crashes has been on a downward trend for several decades despite the rapid growth in air traffic. There have been 111 crashes around the world in 2014, the fewest in any year since 1927. | Over all, the number of airline crashes has been on a downward trend for several decades despite the rapid growth in air traffic. There have been 111 crashes around the world in 2014, the fewest in any year since 1927. |
| Even so, the two-day delay in locating the AirAsia wreckage seems likely to add to the pressure on airlines to do more, by equipping their aircraft with devices that report their location coordinates and other diagnostic information more frequently. | Even so, the two-day delay in locating the AirAsia wreckage seems likely to add to the pressure on airlines to do more, by equipping their aircraft with devices that report their location coordinates and other diagnostic information more frequently. |
| Miles Gerety, an attorney in Connecticut, said calls for more data streaming from aircraft have been heard since at least 1998, when a Swissair flight crashed on its way to Geneva from New York and some data was lost from the “black box” data recorder on board. | Miles Gerety, an attorney in Connecticut, said calls for more data streaming from aircraft have been heard since at least 1998, when a Swissair flight crashed on its way to Geneva from New York and some data was lost from the “black box” data recorder on board. |
| Mr. Gerety, whose brother died on the Swissair flight, recently sailed across the Atlantic on a 35-foot boat and used a device that regularly transmitted his position. | Mr. Gerety, whose brother died on the Swissair flight, recently sailed across the Atlantic on a 35-foot boat and used a device that regularly transmitted his position. |
| “The technology to update a vessel’s position every minute, 30 seconds or even one second is readily available and cheap,” he said by email. | “The technology to update a vessel’s position every minute, 30 seconds or even one second is readily available and cheap,” he said by email. |