Black box data retrieved from Indonesian jet

Indonesian investigators said Friday they have recovered data from a crashed passenger jet's flight recorder, days after the plane with 62 people aboard slammed into the Java Sea.

"(It's) all in good condition and we're now examining the data," National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) head Soerjanto Tjahjono said in a statement.

It's hoped the information could give clues as to why Sriwijaya Air flight SJ 182 plunged about 10,000 feet (3,000 meters) in less than a minute before crashing near Jakarta on Saturday.

Tjahjono added that the recorder's 300 parameters were retrieved, referring to the different data measured, including the flight path, speed, engine power and flaps configurations.

Divers had hauled the data recorder to the surface on Tuesday.

KNKT said the black box confirmed that both of the plane's engines had been operating when the plane hit the water.

Tjahjono told Reuters that the agency plans to issue a preliminary report within 30 days of the crash.

Cockpit voice recorder still missing

The maritime search for the plane's cockpit voice recorder continued Friday.

Recovery teams near the capital's coast have worked for days to salvage human remains and wreckage from the 26-year-old Boeing 737-500.

More than 3,000 people are taking part in the effort, assisted by dozens of boats and helicopters.

Flight SJ 182 crashed just four minutes after setting off from Jakarta, bound for Pontianak city on Borneo island, a 90-minute flight away.

Authorities said the crew did not declare an emergency or report technical problems before the plane dived.

Citing a relatively small area of wreckage, they said the jet was probably intact when it hit the water.

The crash is the biggest airline disaster in Indonesia since October 2018, when 189 people were killed when a Lion Air Boeing 737 Max plunged into the Java Sea soon after take-off.

That crash, and another in Ethiopia, led to the grounding of Boeing's latest version of its 737 aircraft. 

The jet that crashed on Saturday was first produced decades ago and was not a Max variant.

Indonesia’s aviation record is one of the worst in Asia, with more civilian airliner passenger accidents since 1945 than any other country in the region.

Its airlines were once banned from US and European airspace but industry analysts say safety has improved in recent years.

mm/rt (AFP, AP, Reuters)