Divers retrieve 1 of 2 black boxes from crashed AirAsia jet

Flight data recorder was found under part of the plane’s wing and brought to the surface early on Monday

• AP
• Published: 08:48 January 12, 2015
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• Image Credit: REUTERS
• Indonesian police remove tarpaulin from part of the tail of the AirAsia QZ8501 passenger plane in Kumai Port, near Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan January 12, 2015.

PANGKALAN BUN, Indonesia: Divers retrieved one of the black boxes on Monday from the AirAsia plane that plummeted more than two weeks ago into the Java Sea, a major breakthrough in the slow-moving hunt to recover bodies and wreckage.

The flight data recorder was found under part of the plane’s wing and brought to the surface early in the morning, said Henry Bambang Soelistyo, head of the national search and rescue agency.

Divers began zeroing in on the site a day earlier after three Indonesian ships picked up intense pings from the area, but they were unable to see it due to strong currents and poor visibility, said Suryadi Bambang Supriyadi, operation coordinator at the national search and rescue agency.

He earlier said the black box was lodged in debris at a depth of about 30 meters, but Soelistyo did not provide additional details about the discovery.