Divers retrieved one black box and located the other from the AirAsia plane that crashed more than two weeks ago, a key development that should help investigators unravel what caused the aircraft to plummet into the Java Sea. The two instruments, which emit signals from their beacons, are vital to understanding what brought Flight 8501 down on Dec. 28, killing all 162 people on board. They should provide essential information about the plane and all of the conversations between the captain and co-pilot for the duration of the flight.
The cockpit voice recorder was found hours after officials announced that the flight data recorder had been pulled from beneath a piece of the aircraft's wing and brought to the sea's surface, said Suryadi Bambang Supriyadi, operation coordinator for Indonesia's national search and rescue agency. He said the voice recorder was about 20 meters (66 feet) away from the data recorder but remained lodged beneath heavy wreckage, and divers were struggling to free it at a depth of 32 meters (105 feet). Searchers began zeroing in on the location a day earlier after three Indonesian ships picked up intense pings from the area, but they were unable to see the devices due to strong currents and poor visibility.
The last contact the pilots had with air traffic control, less than 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.
Indonesian officials move the tail of the AirAsia QZ8501 aircraft during the recovery mission at Panglima Utar Kumai Harbour
A section of the Air Asia Airbus 320 arrives on a salvage ship at Kumal port, Borneo
Part of the wreckage identified as of AirAsia Flight 8501 is seen in the waters of the Java Sea
Part of the wreckage identified as of AirAsia Flight 8501 is seen in the waters of the Java Sea
The part of the wreckage that BASARNAS identified as of the AirAsia flight 8501 is seen in the waters of the Java Sea
An Indonesian official onboard the vessel KRI Bung Tomo holding a piece of wreckage and a pair of shoes recovered from ill-fated AirAsia flight QZ8501 lost in the Java Sea
Indonesian Navy onboard the vessel KRI Bung Tomo displaying recovered wreckage fromAirAsia flight QZ8501
Indonesian Air Force crew and Indonesian National Search and Rescue (BASARNAS) members carry a body during their search and rescue operation for the crashed AirAsia plane at Iskandar Military Airport in Pangkalan Bun, Central Borneo
Indonesian Navy displaying personal items recovered from ill-fated AirAsia flight QZ8501 lost in the Java Sea
A recovered AirAsia plane passenger seat at the Iskandar Military Airport in Pangkalan Bun, Central Borneo
An Indonesian officer shows a safety instruction card recovered during search operations in the Java sea for AirAsia flight QZ8501 in Pangkalan Bun
A camera recovered from amongst personal items from AirAsia flight QZ8501
An Indonesian Muslim cleric scatters flowers into the ocean after a prayer for the victims of the crashed AirAsia plane inside an Indonesian Air Force NAS 332 Super Puma helicopter flying over the Java Sea off Pangkalan Bun, Central Borneo, Indonesia
Indonesian Air Force crew prepare their Helicopter prior their search and rescue operation for the crashed AirAsia plane, at Iskandar Military Airport in Pangkalan Bun, Central Borneo, Indonesia
A US Navy member, right, looks on as Indonesian rescuers carry a body from a US Navy Seahawk helicopter during a search and rescue operation in Central Borneo, Indonesia
Relatives of Jie Stephanie Gunawan, one of the victims of the crash, wait to be handed over her remains in Surabaya
Divers travel toward the KRI Banda Aceh ship during the search operations in the Java Sea
The front side of debris resembling an aircraft window panel recovered by the Republic of Singapore Navy
Indonesian Air Force crew members taking part in the search for AirAsia QZ8501 wait out a rain storm under the tail of a cargo plane
Members of Indonesian search and rescue team carry a part of the Airbus A320-200 at Iskandar Airbase in Surabaya, Indonesia. A massive recovery operation is underway in waters off Borneo to recover bodies and debris from the missing AirAsia plane.
Members of an Indonesian search and rescue team carry a coffin containing a victim of AirAsia flight 8501 at Iskandar Airbase
Indonesian Navy personnel line up recovered bodies of passengers from AirAsia flight QZ8501 on the the deck of the Indonesian Navy vessel KRI Banda Aceh
A Russian Search and Rescue team loads their equipment after arriving at Pangkalan Bun airport to support the search for Indonesia AirAsia flight QZ8501
Indonesian Navy personnel recover another body from the sea
Bodies of victims of AirAsia Flight 8501 are lifted to Indonesian navy vessel KRI Banda Aceh
Coffins prepared for victims of AirAsia flight QZ8501 crash wait at Sultan Imanuddin hospital
Crew members of a Super Puma NAS 332 helicopter during the continuing search operation over Kumai Bay, Central Borneo
Indonesian men pray during a special prayer service for the victims of AirAsia Flight 8501 at the Al Akbar Mosque in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia
Family photos of (left to right) Soemanik Saeran, 64, Naura Kanita Rosada Suseno, 9, and Djoko Suseno, 43, with his wife Hayati Lutfiah Hamid, 39, are displayed in the home of Soemanik where relatives and friends gathered for nightly prayers, in Surabaya, Indonesia. Prayers of hope that the four were still alive have since given way to prayers that their bodies will be recovered quickly
A member of the Indonesian Red Cross walks among coffins for the victims of AirAsia Flight 8501 at the main hospital in Pangkalan Bun, Indonesia
Indonesian rescuers unload a body from a Seahawk helicopter at Iskandar Military Airport
A man performs Friday prayers, which included a special prayer for the passengers of AirAsia Flight QZ8501, at Masjid Al-Akbar mosque in Surabaya
The crew member from a USS Sampson Navy helicopter carries derbis of the AirAsia flight QZ8501 at Iskandar Airbase in Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia
Indonesian national search and rescue agency members and Indonesian Air Force crew carry a dead body from a helicopter, during search and rescue operations for the crashed AirAsia plane, at Iskandar Military Airport, in Pangkalan Bun, Central Borneo, Indonesia
Relatives of the missing passengers on board the AirAsia plane pray at Juanda Airport, in Surabaya, Indonesia
Indonesian Navy divers inspect their gear upon arrival for the search operation for the victims of AirAsia flight QZ 8501 at the airport in Pangkalan Bun, Indonesia
Indonesian police collect AirAsia passenger identifications from relatives to help identification of the victims at Juanda Airport, in Surabaya, Indonesia
Indonesian President Joko Widodo (L) stands in the cockpit of a Hercules C-130 during the search operation for missing AirAsia flight QZ8501
Relatives of passengers of the missing AirAsia flight QZ 8501 react to the news on television about the findings of bodies on the waters near the site where the jetliner disappeared, at the crisis centre at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia
Commander of Indonesian Air Force 1st Operational Command Rear Marshall Dwi Putranto, center, shows the airplane parts and a suitcase found floating on the water near the site where AirAsia Flight 8501 disappeared, during a press conference at the airbase in Pangkalan Bun, Central Borneo, Indonesia.
Family members of passengers pray together while waiting for a briefing inside the crisis-centre set up at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya.
Family members of passengers onboard AirAsia flight QZ8501 react at a waiting area in Juanda International Airport, Surabaya. Indonesian rescuers detect bodies and luggage off the coast of Borneo island and officials said they were '95 percent sure' debris spotted in the sea was from the missing AirAsia plane with 162 people on board. Indonesia AirAsia's Flight QZ8501, an Airbus A320-200, lost contact with air traffic control early on Sunday during bad weather on a flight from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore.
An unidentified object, found during a search and rescue operation by the Indonesian Air Force for the missing AirAsia plane
An official of Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency points the screen of weather around Bangka-Belitung island and West Kalimantan, in Jakarta, Indonesia
A family member of passengers reacts after seeing an unidentified floating dead body during a search and rescue mission with Indonesian military personnel over the waters of the Java Sea.
Republic of Singapore Air Force personnel survey the waters during a search and locate operation for the missing plane
Indonesian air force crew are seen before an operation to retrieve dead bodies
A crew member of an Indonesian Maritime Surveillance plane says a prayer before a search mission
Indonesian Air Force Captain Ammad (L) and Co-Pilot First Letuenant Suma during a search and rescue operation as they search for the missing AirAsia plane over Pangkalan Bun, Indonesia
Indonesian air force CN295 crew members look from plane windows during a search and rescue operation for missing AirAsia flight QZ8501 over waters near Pangkalan, Central Kalimantan, on December 30, 2014
Indonesian Air Force personnel carry airplane parts recovered from the water near the site where AirAsia Flight 8501 disappeared
Relatives reacts as the Indonesian Search and Rescue Team announce they found debris of the missing AirAsia plane
Indonesian students pray for victims of the missing AirAsia flight QZ8501 in Tangerang.
Relatives of passengers on AirAsia flight QZ 8501 react to the breaking news of debris and bodies being found on December 30
Rohaida Rudzlan (R) and six-year-old Airis Marisah (C) look at messages of support posted on a board for the relatives and passengers of missing AirAsia flight QZ8501, at Terminal 2 in Singapore's Changi airport on December 30, 2014
A member of the Indonesian military looks out of the window during a search and rescue operation for missing Malaysian air carrier AirAsia flight QZ8501
An Indonesian Air Force pilot look from the cockpit windows of a C-130 Hercules plane during a search and rescue operation as they search for the missing AirAsia plane over Bangka Island, Indonesia
Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla (2-L) and AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes (R) talk to relatives of the missing AirAsia plane passenger at Juanda Airport, in Surabaya
Indonesian Air Force members look the cockpit windows of C-130 Hercules plane during a search and rescue operation as they search for the missing AirAsia plane over Bangka Island, Indonesia
An Indonesian policeman points at a map of Indonesia at a crisis centre in Juanda International Airport, Surabaya
A Republic of Singapore Air Force personnel (RSAF) serviceman on board a C-130 aircraft participating in the search and locate (SAL) operation for missing AirAsia flight QZ8501 at sea.
Family members of people on AirAsia flight QZ8501 pray togather at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, Indonesia