AirAsia search resumes with specialist equipment

Specialist teams and ships with sensitive acoustic equipment have arrived off the coast of Indonesia's Borneo Island, where an AirAsia flight carrying 162 people is suspected of having crashed early Sunday. The teams were hoping to find the plane's black box, which could give clues as to why the plane went down.

"We will focus on underwater detection," Henry Bambang Soelistyo, head of Indonesia's National Search And Rescue Agency, told reporters. The ships, from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the US, arrived on the scene early Friday to begin searching through the wreckage.

France's BEA crash investigation agency was also sending a ship with two hydrophones, or underwater acoustic detection devices, according to Reuters news agency.

Recovery has been difficult

Nine planes, many with metal detectors, were already searching the 13,500 kilometer area, with three more Japanese ships with helicopters due to provide assistance as well, Bambang said, adding that bad weather had made recovery difficult.

Bambang said the fuselage is estimated to be at a depth of 25 to 30 meters (about 100 feet).

AirAsia Flight 8501 crashed on Sunday while flying from Indonesia's Surabaya to Singapore. The plane's pilots had requested a change of course to avoid weather, but that request was denied. A few minutes later, the plane went off the radar; air traffic controllers did not receive a distress signal.

So far, one crash victim has been identified and returned to her family. Hayati Lutfiah Hamid was laid to rest on Thursday after a short ceremony.

mg/cmk (Reuters, AP)