Indonesian divers continue their search for the wreckage of the plane that crashed in the sea off Jakarta on October 29, 2018, along with what will be crucial sources of information to investigators: flight-data and cockpit-voice recorders revealing the aircraft’s final moments. Latest developments in the search efforts indicate investigators may be zeroing in on the fuselage of the crashed plane.
“We will collect all data from the control tower,” said Soerjanto Tjahjono, an official with Indonesia‘s National Transportation Safety Committee. “The plane is so modern, it transmits data from the plane and that we will review too. But the most important is the black box,” he was quoted as saying by The Hindustan Times.
Several media sources have reported on October 31, 2018, that Indonesian investigators searching for the flight recorders of the crashed Lion Air Flight JT610 have heard underwater "pings" presumably coming from the submerged aircraft. If the origin of the signals is confirmed as coming from the wreckage, it could lead to the discovery of the devices, or “black boxes”.
The hunt for the “black boxes”
A search and rescue team reportedly picked up the “ping” signal on October 30, 2018. The head of Indonesia‘s National Transportation Safety Committee, Ir. Suryanto, told local television outlet TV One that "pings" had been detected no further than 3 kilometers (1.86 miles) from the eight current search points, CNN reports.
The following day, on October 31, 2018, Hadi Tjahjanto, commander of Indonesia's Armed Forces, told the same broadcaster he believed they have located a part of the fuselage. Search ships would be deployed to one particular search point, which they think the signals could be coming from. Divers would be sent to the location to confirm the origin of the signal.
The search for the wreckage
In an earlier report, Bambang Suryo Aji, the director of operations at Indonesia's national search and rescue agency (Basarnas), said that aside of smaller pieces of aircraft debris, rescue workers had found debris appearing to be the plane's tail, CNN reported on October 29, 2018.
However, to date, no sizable parts of the wreckage have been retrieved and the main body of the plane has not been found since it plunged into the Java Sea, north-east of Jakarta.
Most recently, speaking on board navy ship KRI Rigel on October 30, 2018, navy official Colonel Haris Djoko Nugroho told TV One that a 22-metre (72.2 feet) long object had been found in waters about 32 meters (105 feet) deep. A side-scan sonar was being used by the navy to identify the object and divers would also be sent to the location, Reuters writes. The Rigel has been searching for the fuselage of the crashed plane in an area about 5 nautical miles from the site where the aircraft was last contacted.
The scope of the search operations
As of October 29, 2019, search and rescue teams have been working at the crash site about 34 nautical miles northeast of the coast in the Java Sea. Divers have been searching in coastal waters that are about 32 meters (105 feet) deep, CNN reported.
“The plane crashed into water about 30 to 40 meters deep and we’re still searching for the remains of the plane,” spokesman for Indonesia’s Search and Rescue Agency, Yusuf Latif, was quoted as saying by The Hindustan Times.
Initially, the focus of the search was an area within 5 nautical miles of where the crashed plane lost contact. That was expanded to 10 nautical miles on October 30, 2018, and to 15 nautical miles on October 31, 2018, Reuters cited an officer with the search and rescue agency as saying.
Underwater drones, as well as sonar technology, or underwater "pinger locators", have been deployed to the crash site. However, underwater footage released by the search and rescue agency showed relatively poor visibility. “The visibility is not good as its very overcast,” a Special Forces officer was quoted as saying by Reuters.
According to Didi Hamzar, an official from the agency, a group of 100 divers are now focusing on five locations where debris has been identified by sonar, CNN reported on October 31, 2018. Various sources indicate that at least 300 rescuers, including military, police and local fishermen, have been involved in the search and rescue operations, assisted by a total of 35 vessels.
Another entity to offer a helping hand is Boeing, which said in a statement it is “providing technical assistance at the request and under the direction of government authorities investigating the accident.” Also onboard is the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) which said on October 29, 2018, it is providing assistance in the investigation into the crash, Reuters reports.