AirAsia Jet's Tail Lifted from Sea Floor, Black Box Still Missing
The tail of AirAsia flight QZ8501 was lifted from the sea bed today, 100 feet below the surface and 20 miles from the passenger jet's last known location, Reuters reports. The black box is still missing.
Divers attached inflatable balloons to the tail section, which was then towed to a nearby rescue vessel. Flight 8501 first went missing two weeks ago. There were 162 people on board; 48 bodies have been recovered so far.
The plane's black box—containing the cockpit voice and flight data recorders—is held near the tail. On Friday, Reuters reports, pings believed to be emitted by the black box were detected about a half-mile away from where the tail was lifted:
"The location where the pings were (detected) has been flagged," Fransiskus Bambang Soelistyo, the head of the search and rescue agency, told reporters. "If tomorrow the currents allow us to confirm it, we will confirm it immediately."
Two teams of divers reportedly began the search again early Saturday morning
[Photo credit: AP Images]