Signals from the AirAsia Black Box Have Been Received

Twelve days after the AirAsia plane crash with 162 passengers over the skies of Indonesia, which led to its fall into the sea, officials from that country say they were able to receive signals from its black box on Friday, January 19. This is an important step in locating the black box of the plane and conducting investigations into the cause or causes of this deadly accident. The Airbus 320 flight number 8501 of AirAsia, which was traveling from Indonesia to Singapore, disappeared on January 7. The day after, the head of the National Search and Rescue Agency of Indonesia stated that the plane was likely 'at the bottom of the sea.' Search operations began in the waters of Java, Indonesia, and eventually, some parts of the aircraft and bodies of some passengers were found. None of the passengers survived the crash. Recently, searchers managed to find the tail of the plane, where the black box, which records conversations and events inside the aircraft, is located. However, Santosu Sayugo, one of the inspectors of the National Transportation Safety Committee of Indonesia, told Reuters that the black box is not in the tail of the plane. Mr. Sayugo stated, 'We hope that [the received signals] are from the black box. Unfortunately, these signals are not from the tail of the plane. Divers need to confirm its location.' The tail of the plane was found 30 kilometers from where the Airbus was last seen on radar, at a depth of 30 meters on the seabed. On the other hand, reports indicate that the survivors of the victims of this air disaster have asked Indonesian authorities to prioritize finding the bodies of their relatives. Of the 162 passengers, only 46 bodies have been found so far. In this context, the search for the AirAsia plane and its passengers has intensified.