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Grim AirAsia search for bodies hampered by storms Grim AirAsia search for bodies hampered by storms
(about 7 hours later)
BEIJING — Indonesian search crews battled storms and high waves Wednesday as they tried to recover more bodies and find the underwater wreckage of a missing AirAsia jet carrying 162 passengers and crew. BEIJING — Fierce winds and storm-tossed seas off Indonesia sharply limited search missions Wednesday seeking to recover more bodies from the AirAsia crash and pinpoint the underwater wreckage of the jet that went down with 162 people aboard.
At least six bodies have been recovered, search officials said, including one wearing uniform of a flight attendant, which local media have identified as 20-year-old trainee Khairunisa Haidar Fauzi. Several more bodies were pulled from the Java Sea — including one wearing a red flight attendant uniform — and sonar images appeared to show parts of the plane that was lost Sunday.
A seventh body was pulled from the water wearing a life jacket, Reuters reported, and Indonesia’s Navy Chief Abdul Aziz Jaafar posted pictures on Twitter of an emergency evacuation slide recovered in the debris — the first two clues to suggest passengers and crew members may have had time to take preventative measures. But the harsh weather, including waves up to 10 feet high, played havoc over the operations and eventually forced officials to call off the searches after helicopters were grounded and dive teams were held back.
High winds, rain and waves as high as 10 meters Wednesday forced rescuers to suspend their search. Conditions were forecast to worsen during the next two days, which could further restrict search efforts and increasingly complicate the hunt by sending wreckage and bodies drifting over a wider area.
Search officials said that a sonar image appears to show a shape near the debris site that could be the plane’s fuselage on the sea bottom at a depth of 80 to 100 feet. One of the search coordinators, Indonesian Vice Air Marshal Sunarbowo Sandi, said debris has floated as much as 30 miles in a day from the crash zone about 100 miles southwest of the island of Borneo.
With the discovery of floating wreckage and bodies Tuesday in waters off Indonesia, the massive search-and-rescue effort for a missing AirAsia jet now turns into a recovery operation. In total, seven bodies have been recovered: three men and four women, including a flight attendant trainee identified by local media as 20-year-old Khairunisa Haidar Fauzi.
Crews are trying to recover more bodies from the Java Sea and to comb underwater for the main fuselage and flight recorders, which represent their best chance of figuring out why the plane crashed. The stormy weather prevented authorities from airlifting five of the recovered bodies from ships. The other remains were put into simple wooden coffins and flown to Surabaya, where the AirAsia flight took off early Sunday bound for Singapore.
After an intense three-day search, the discovery of the debris and some bodies Tuesday was a source of relief and sharp anguish. For families — who had been awaiting word ever since the jet lost radar contact Sunday — it was grim confirmation of their worst fears: that the plane and its 162 passengers had plunged from the storm-laced skies. In a short ceremony, the two coffins — labeled 001 and 002 and topped with flowers — were escorted by honor guard from the airstrip in Surabaya, about 400 miles southeast of Jakarata.
Indonesia’s president, Joko Widodo, rushed to the scene and thanked the international teams that mobilized for the search. Then he addressed the grieving families. Initial reports on Wednesday described one of the bodies recovered as wearing a life jacket, suggesting passengers had time to prepare for the crash. But officials later called the report erroneous. One search official told an Indonesia media outlet, Detik, that the body was found near a life jacket rather than wearing one.
“I feel your loss,” he said, adding prayers that they would be “given strength to face this tragedy.” Since the crash, family members have gathered in Surabaya as their faint hope gave way to the grim realization that the chance for survivors is all but gone. Prayer services have been held and many cities — including Surabaya — canceled or toned down New Year celebrations.
At the Surabaya airport, about 400 miles southeast of Jakarta, relatives of those on the flight broke down in tears as television images showed the recovery of a body, bloated by the sun and sea. Some hugged or collapsed in anguish. One man was carried out on a stretcher. For many relatives, the new year began by giving DNA samples, medical records, family photos and information such as a tattoos and birth marks to possibly help identify the dead. Nearly all the passengers were Indonesian — some making holiday trips to Singapore.
The TV images drew strong condemnation online. The station, TV One, quickly apologized and subsequently blurred out video of the corpse at sea. Meanwhile, technical crews scanned beneath the waves for signs of the Airbus A320-200, which is about 125 feet long and with a wing span of 112 feet.
Nearly all the passengers and crew members were Indonesians — some making year-end holiday trips to Singapore. Sonar images appeared to show a shape on the seabed — at a depth of between 80 to 100 feet — that could be part of the main wreckage, authorities said. The relatively shallow sea and clear water could play important roles in reaching what is left of the fuselage and possibly locating the flight recorders.
“Words cannot express how sorry I am,” AirAsia’s chief executive, Tony Fernandes, wrote in a tweet. Their data could provide key clues in seeking the cause for the crash, which occurred moments after the pilot radioed for permission to climb to 38,000 feet in an apparent attempt to bypass rough weather.
The top goal, authorities said, when operations resumed at first light on Wednesday was to recover more bodies — an effort that was complicated by stormy conditions. The pilot did not respond several minutes later after controllers gave permission to rise, but only to 34,000 feet, because of another aircraft on a higher route.
Radar records, however, suggest the plane made an “unbelievably” steep climb before it crashed, raising speculation that the aircraft could have stalled during the ascent, the Reuters news agency reported, citing a source familiar with the probe’s initial findings.
“So far, the numbers taken by the radar are unbelievably high. This rate of climb is very high, too high. It appears to be beyond the performance envelope of the aircraft,” the source was quoted by Reuters.
There was no immediate comment from Indonesian authorities.
“Words cannot express how sorry I am,” AirAsia’s chief executive, Tony Fernandes, wrote in a tweet on Tuesday after debris and bodies were spotted.
The small number of bodies recovered so far suggests that many may remain in the underwater wreckage. In the 2009 Air France Flight 447 crash, to which many experts have compared the AirAsia situation, the majority of bodies were not recovered until authorities found the submerged fuselage.The small number of bodies recovered so far suggests that many may remain in the underwater wreckage. In the 2009 Air France Flight 447 crash, to which many experts have compared the AirAsia situation, the majority of bodies were not recovered until authorities found the submerged fuselage.
Meanwhile, an array of debris was carried Tuesday to Indonesian ports: a portable oxygen tank, a light-blue wheeled suitcase, a portion of the inner layer of the aircraft cabin.
The debris field was spotted about 60 miles from the flight’s last known coordinates and roughly 100 miles southeast of the coast of Borneo.
It was discovered by a fisherman, who hadn’t heard of the missing plane and had no clue what the debris signified until he returned to his village, local news outlet Tempo reported.
In a cruel twist, some rescuers initially thought they saw people waving for help. It turned out to be sea swells tossing lifeless arms.
“When we approached closer [we saw] they were already dead,” said Lt. Tri Wibowo, co-pilot of a C-130 Hercules involved in the search effort, according to the Indonesian newspaper Kompas.
The spotters on the plane also saw what looked like a shadow on the seabed in the shape of a plane, which search officials believe could be the main wreckage.
Even as they pull more bodies and debris Wednesday from the Java Sea, investigators are preparing for the next step: trying to reach what is left of the Airbus A320-200 in relatively shallow waters up to 100 feet deep.
Indonesian authorities have sent divers and sonar-equipped ships to the site.
The USS Sampson, a guided-missile destroyer, joined the search late Tuesday and has launched helicopters to help. U.S. defense officials said the USS Fort Worth is also ready to assist from its port in Singapore.The USS Sampson, a guided-missile destroyer, joined the search late Tuesday and has launched helicopters to help. U.S. defense officials said the USS Fort Worth is also ready to assist from its port in Singapore.
A former accident investigator, John Cox, said the plane’s voice and flight data recorders — if found — would be sent for analysis to countries that have more advanced decoding technology, such as the United States or Australia. It could take up to three days to fully study the data, he added. Murphy reported from Washington. Liu Liu and Gu Jinglu in Beijing contributed to this report.
“In those boxes,” said Cox, a former captain for US Airways, “will be the story of what brought down the AirAsia flight.”
Among the critical questions is whether the plane broke up during flight or hit the water intact.
“It’s important to know because that tells you whether it was a force like a storm that destroyed the airplane in air or if it was a matter of the pilots losing control and never able to recover from it,” said Australia-based aviation security expert Desmond Ross.
One possible advantage for investigators is the relatively shallow seabed and its proximity to shipping lanes. Merchant seamen and others have extensive knowledge of currents that could have carried the wreckage and the orange-colored flight recorders, which are waterproof and fitted with an electronic tracking signal.
“My guess is we’ll know what happened within a week,” said David Gallo, an American oceanographer and co-expedition leader in the investigation of the 2009 crash of Air France Flight 447.
Liu Liu and Gu Jinglu in Beijing contributed to this report.