Searchers retrieve 1 of 2 black boxes from AirAsia plane

PANGKALAN BUN, Indonesia -- Divers retrieved one of the black boxes today 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 100 feet, but Soelistyo did not provide additional details on the discovery.

Searchers will continue to scour the seabed to try to locate the other black box, the cockpit voice recorder. They are vital to understanding what brought Flight 8501 down Dec. 28, killing all 162 people on board.

The flight data recorder will be taken to Jakarta, the capital, for analysis. It could take up to two weeks to download its recorded data, said Nurcahyo Utomo, an investigator at the National Committee for Safety Transportation.

Officials recovered the aircraft's tail Saturday, the first major wreckage excavated from the crash site. They were hopeful the black boxes were still inside, but learned they had detached when the plane crashed into the sea.

Search efforts have been consistently hampered by big waves and powerful currents created by the region's rainy season. Silt and sand, along with river runoff, have created blinding conditions for divers.

So far, only 48 bodies have been recovered. Many believe most of the corpses are likely still inside the main cabin, which has yet to be located.

Three more bodies were identified Sunday, including Park Seongbeom, 37, and his wife, Lee Kyung Hwa, 34, from South Korea, said Budiyono, who heads East Java's Disaster Victim Identification unit and, like many Indonesians, uses only one name.

He said they were discovered Friday on the seabed, still strapped to their seats. Their baby has not yet been found, but the infant's carrier was still attached to the man.

The last contact the pilots had with air traffic control, about halfway into their two-hour journey from Indonesia's second-largest city, Surabaya, to Singapore, indicated they were entering stormy weather. They asked to climb from 32,000 feet (9,753 meters) to 38,000 feet (11,582 meters) to avoid threatening clouds, but were denied permission because of heavy air traffic. Four minutes later, the plane dropped off the radar. No distress signal was sent.

Sonar on Sunday detected a large object in the vicinity of the pings. Officials initially were hopeful it was the main section of the cabin, but Soelistyo said divers confirmed it was a wing and debris from the engine.

Search efforts have been consistently hampered by big waves and powerful currents created by the region's rainy season. Silt and sand, along with murky river runoff, have created blinding conditions for divers.

While the cause of the crash is not yet known, bad weather is believed to have been a factor.

The tail's excavation was a major success in the slow-moving hunt for victims and wreckage from Flight 8501. The red metal chunk from the tail, with the words "AirAsia" clearly visible across it, was brought to the surface from a depth of about 30 meters (100 feet) on Saturday using inflatable balloons. The vertical stabilizer was still largely intact, but the attached jagged fuselage was ripped open and tangled by a mess of wires.

The find, however, was tinged with disappointment when the black boxes were not found still attached. Their beacons emit signals for about 30 days until the batteries die, meaning divers have about two weeks left before they go silent.

Several other large objects have been spotted in the search area by sonar, but they have not yet been confirmed with underwater visuals.

AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes had expressed optimism earlier Sunday that the effort was gaining momentum.

"Let's hope today is a major breakthrough day and we can find (the) main fuselage," he wrote in a Twitter post.

Many believe most of the victims' bodies are likely entombed inside the aircraft on the seabed. So far, only 48 corpses have been recovered.

Three more bodies were identified Sunday, including Park Seongbeom, 37, and his wife, Lee Kyung Hwa, 34, from South Korea, said Budiyono, who heads East Java's Disaster Victim Identification unit and, like many Indonesians, uses only one name.

He said they were discovered Friday on the seabed, still strapped to their seats. Their baby has not yet been found, but the infant's carrier was still attached to the man.

Sixteen recovered corpses remain unidentified, partially due to decomposition, Budiyono said. Nearly all of the passengers were Indonesian.

The last contact the pilots had with air traffic control, about halfway into their two-hour journey from Indonesia's second-largest city, Surabaya, to Singapore, indicated they were entering stormy weather. They asked to climb from 32,000 feet (9,753 meters) to 38,000 feet (11,582 meters) to avoid threatening clouds, but were denied permission because of heavy air traffic. Four minutes later, the plane dropped off the radar. No distress signal was issued.

Associated Press writer Ali Kotarumalos in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report.