Indonesian naval forces are searching for victims of the accident. (Photo: Xinhua/VNA)Jakarta (VNA) – Ablack box of the Lion Air plane that went down in waters off West Java provinceof Indonesia on October 29 were retrieved on November 1.
The box was found among debris inthe mud on the sea floor, at a depth of 32.5m, said Hendra, one of the diversparticipating in the search, told broadcaster Metro TV.
It was orange in colour andintact, he said, without specifying if the item was the flight data recorder orthe cockpit voice recorder.
SoerjantoTjahjono, head of the National Transportation Safety Committee, said apreliminary accident investigation report should be released within a month andthe final report could take 4-6 months.
The jet, aBoeing 737 MAX 8, was en route from Jakarta toPangkakpinang in Bangka Belitung province off Sumatraisland. It lost contact with air traffic control just 13 minutes after takeoff.
According tothe National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas), the total number of people onthe plane was 189, including two pilots and six flight attendants.
However, allof them may have been dead and rescue forces have found many body parts of thevictims.
The incident is reported to be the firstmajor accident involving a Boeing 737 Max - an updated version of the 737.
The Lion Air crash is the worst airline disaster in Indonesia since 1997, when 234people died on a Garuda flight near Medan.-VNA
VNA
