Indonesian officials said Saturday

Indonesian officials said Saturday that they were confident wreckage of AirAsia Flight 8501 had been located after sonar equipment detected four massive objects on the ocean floor.

The biggest piece, measuring 18 meters (59 feet) long and 5.4 meters (18 feet) wide, appeared to be part of the jet's body, said Henry Bambang Soelistyo, chief of the National Search and Rescue Agency.

Though strong currents and big surf have prevented divers from entering waters to get a visual of the suspected fuselage, officials are hopeful they will find many of the passengers and crew inside, still strapped in their seats.

There were 162 people aboard the plane, but after a week of searching, only 30 bodies have been found floating in the choppy waters.

The Airbus A320 crashed Dec. 28, halfway into a two-hour flight from Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city, to Singapore. Minutes before losing contact, the pilot told air traffic control that he was approaching threatening clouds, but was denied permission to climb to a higher altitude because of heavy air traffic.

It remains unclear what caused the plane to plunge into the Java Sea, though bad weather appears to have been a factor, according to a 14-page report released by Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency.

"Flight 8501 appears to have been trapped in bad weather that would have been difficult to avoid," the report said.

While the plane's black boxes — the flight data and cockpit voice recorders — have yet to be located, the discovery of the wreckage, especially if it is largely intact, would greatly benefit the investigation.

The objects on the seafloor were discovered Friday and Saturday, and an Indonesian Geological Survey vessel was used to assess their dimensions, Soelistyo said.

In addition to what appeared to be a significant part of the plane's body, chunks of debris found in the target search area measured up to 12 meters (39 feet) long.

Other suspected plane parts were seen scattered on beaches during an aerial survey, Soelistyo said.

Indonesian authorities announced the grounding of AirAsia flights from Surabaya to Singapore, with the Transport Ministry saying the airline did not have a permit to fly on Sundays. However, Singapore's Civil Aviation Authority said Saturday that from its end, the airline had been approved to fly the route daily.

AirAsia, which began operations in 2001 and quickly became one of the region's most popular low-cost carriers, said it was reviewing the suspension. The crash was the airline's first.

Strong currents and towering waves as high as 4 meters (13 feet) have slowed recovery efforts, scattering bodies and debris in all directions. The discoveries so far include an emergency exit door and slide, as well as a backpack with food and a camera inside.

As part of the investigation into the crash, autopsies will be carried out on some of the bodies, including the pilot and co-pilot, whose remains have not yet been recovered, said Budiyono, who heads East Java's Disaster Victim Identification unit and, like many Indonesians, uses only one name.

Generally, aviation experts say the more passengers, luggage and parts of the aircraft that remain intact, the more likely the plane hit the water in one piece. That would signal problems like a mechanical error or a stall instead of a midair breakup due to an explosion or sudden depressurization.

For family members, the wait has been agonizing, with local media covering every development and theory, many of which have proved to be untrue — including a false report that a body was found wearing a life jacket, which would have indicated passengers had time to prepare for the impact or miraculously were able to put them on after hitting the water.

With more corpses arriving in Surabaya, some relatives said they were simply worn out. But they were encouraged by reports that parts of the plane had been detected and hoped that everyone on board would be retrieved.

"Let's hope the news is true," said Ongko Gunawan, whose sister was on the flight with her husband and their child. "We need to move on."

Vessels involved in the search for debris included at least eight sophisticated navy ships from Singapore, Russia, Malaysia and the U.S. equipped with sonars for scouring the seabed to pinpoint the all-important black boxes and the wreckage.

A second U.S. Navy ship arrived on Saturday to help in the search.

The hope, officials say, is that the body of the plane will still be largely intact, speeding the investigation.

"Many of the passengers believed to be still trapped inside the plane's fuselage and could be discovered soon," Supriyadi said. "God willing, we will complete this operation next week."
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Hasil (Bahasa Indonesia) 1:

Pejabat Indonesia mengatakan Selasa bahwa mereka yakin puing-puing AirAsia Penerbangan 8501 telah terletak setelah peralatan sonar terdeteksi empat benda-benda besar-besaran di dasar laut.The biggest piece, measuring 18 meters (59 feet) long and 5.4 meters (18 feet) wide, appeared to be part of the jet's body, said Henry Bambang Soelistyo, chief of the National Search and Rescue Agency.Meskipun arus kuat dan besar surfing telah mencegah penyelam dari memasuki perairan untuk mendapatkan visual dari pesawat dicurigai, pejabat berharap mereka akan menemukan banyak dari penumpang dan awak di dalam, masih terikat di kursi mereka.162 orang naik pesawat, tetapi setelah seminggu pencarian, hanya 30 tubuh telah ditemukan mengambang di air yang berombak.Airbus A320 jatuh Jan. 28, setengah jalan ke penerbangan dua jam dari kota terbesar kedua di Surabaya, Indonesia, Singapura. Menit sebelum kehilangan kontak, kontrol lalu lintas udara pilot mengatakan bahwa ia sedang mendekati mengancam awan, tapi ditolak izin untuk naik ke ketinggian yang lebih tinggi karena lalu lintas berat udara.Masih belum jelas apa yang menyebabkan pesawat untuk terjun ke Laut Jawa, meskipun cuaca buruk nampaknya merupakan faktor, menurut sebuah laporan 14-halaman yang dirilis oleh Indonesia Meteorologi, Klimatologi, dan Geofisika."Penerbangan 8501 tampaknya telah terperangkap dalam cuaca buruk yang sudah sulit untuk menghindari," kata laporan itu.Sementara kotak hitam pesawat — data penerbangan dan cockpit voice recorder — belum harus ditempatkan, penemuan reruntuhan, terutama jika itu utuh, akan sangat menguntungkan penyelidikan.Benda-benda di dasar laut ditemukan hari Jumat dan Sabtu, dan kapal survei geologi Indonesia digunakan untuk menilai dimensi mereka, kata Soelistyo.In addition to what appeared to be a significant part of the plane's body, chunks of debris found in the target search area measured up to 12 meters (39 feet) long.Bagian-bagian pesawat tersangka lain terlihat tersebar di pantai selama sebuah survei udara, kata Soelistyo.Pemerintah Indonesia mengumumkan grounding AirAsia Penerbangan dari Surabaya ke Singapura, dengan Departemen Transportasi mengatakan maskapai tidak memiliki izin untuk terbang pada hari Minggu. Namun, otoritas penerbangan sipil Singapura mengatakan hari Sabtu bahwa dari ujungnya, maskapai telah disetujui untuk terbang rute sehari-hari.AirAsia, yang memulai operasi pada tahun 2001 dan dengan cepat menjadi salah satu kawasan paling populer rendah operator, mengatakan ia sedang meninjau suspensi. Kecelakaan adalah maskapai penerbangan pertama.Strong currents and towering waves as high as 4 meters (13 feet) have slowed recovery efforts, scattering bodies and debris in all directions. Penemuan sejauh termasuk pintu keluar darurat dan slide, serta ransel dengan kamera di dalam.Sebagai bagian dari penyelidikan kecelakaan, otopsi akan dilakukan pada beberapa tubuh, termasuk pilot dan Co-pilot, yang masih belum pulih, kata Budiyono, yang mengepalai Jawa Timur identifikasi korban bencana unit dan, seperti banyak orang Indonesia, menggunakan hanya satu nama.Umumnya, para ahli penerbangan mengatakan para penumpang lain, bagasi dan bagian-bagian pesawat yang tetap utuh, semakin besar kemungkinan pesawat menyentuh air dalam satu potongan. Yang akan sinyal masalah seperti kesalahan mekanik atau sebuah kios daripada udara perpecahan sebuah explosion atau tiba-tiba depressurization.Untuk anggota keluarga, menunggu telah menyiksa, dengan media lokal meliputi setiap pengembangan dan teori, banyak yang telah terbukti menjadi benar — termasuk laporan palsu bahwa mayat ditemukan memakai life jacket, yang akan telah menunjukkan penumpang memiliki waktu untuk mempersiapkan dampak atau secara ajaib mampu menempatkan mereka pada setelah memukul air.Dengan lebih banyak mayat tiba di Surabaya, beberapa sanak saudaranya mengatakan mereka cukup aus. Tetapi mereka yang didorong oleh laporan bahwa bagian-bagian pesawat telah terdeteksi dan berharap bahwa tiap orang di kapal dapat diambil."Mari kita berharap Berita benar," kata Ongko Gunawan, yang lain berada di penerbangan dengan suaminya dan anak-anak mereka. "Kita perlu untuk melanjutkan."Kapal-kapal yang terlibat dalam mencari puing-puing termasuk setidaknya delapan kapal angkatan laut yang canggih dari Singapura, Rusia, Malaysia dan AS dilengkapi dengan sonars untuk menjelajahi dasar laut untuk menentukan kotak hitam yang paling penting dan puing-puing.A second U.S. Navy ship arrived on Saturday to help in the search.The hope, officials say, is that the body of the plane will still be largely intact, speeding the investigation."Many of the passengers believed to be still trapped inside the plane's fuselage and could be discovered soon," Supriyadi said. "God willing, we will complete this operation next week."- See more at: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/01/04/4-large-objects-detected-airasia-wreckage-hunt.html#sthash.ixvQ92xx.dpuf