Divers are attempting to retrieve more bodies from the wreckage of AirAsia Flight 8501, but bad weather is working against them.
As of Monday, 37 bodies had been recovered and efforts were continuing. Sonar has found five major pieces of the plane in the waters, and a spokesperson for Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue
told ABC it’s expected many passengers and crew are trapped inside those submerged parts.
The plane went down Dec. 28 and all 162 people aboard are believed to have died.
In addition to searching for bodies, teams are trying to reach the airplane’s black boxes.
USA Today said searchers found a large submerged section that is believed to be the plane’s tail where the data and voice recorders would be located, but a cloudy bottom in the water makes it impossible to tell yet. In addition, no one has detected the “pings” that come from the black box.
Officials are hoping the black box information will shed light on what caused the airliner to crash; the pilot had radioed that he was approaching threatening weather, but he was not able to move to a higher elevation because of heavy air traffic.
As the search continued, Indonesia reported that AirAsia had not obtained the proper permits for
Flight 8501 or any Sunday flights, CBS said. Praminto Hadi, director of Civil Aviation of Juanda, Surabaya, issued a statement that said the flight was operating illegally.
AirAsia disputes that finding and said the flight was a “legitimate one,” CBS said.
"Our operations have followed all procedural requirements in Indonesia and the flight QZ8501 was a legitimate one," Kamaruddin Meranun, AirAsia co-owner, told CBS News.
Over the weekend, Indonesia said all AirAsia flights between Surabaya and Singapore would be stopped while the situation is investigated.
Grieving relatives were told Monday they would be allowed to visit the site where the plane went down and scatter flowers.