Indonesia closes in on location of doomed Lion Air jet's black box

The Boeing-737 MAX 8, which went into service just a few months ago, crashed into the Java Sea off Indonesia's northern coast moments after it had asked to return to Jakarta on Monday (Oct 29). (Photo: AFP/Hadi Sutrisno)

Retrieving the black box will be key to unlocking why the Boeing 737-MAX, one of the world's newest and most advanced commercial passenger jets, nosedived into the Java sea so soon after leaving Jakarta.

Authorities picked up the box's signals some 30-40 meters (100-130 feet) below the surface of the water off Indonesia's north coast, where the plane crashed Monday.

"We have not found the black box's location, but it's in the area, within a three-kilometre radius," Soerjanto Tjahjono, head of Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee, told Kompas TV.

"Usually the black box location is near the main wreckage."

The box contains flight data that shows the speed, altitude and direction of the plane, while the cockpit voice recorder keeps track of conversations and other sounds in the cockpit.

Dozens of divers were taking part in the 1,000-strong personnel recovery effort along with helicopters and ships, but authorities have all but ruled out finding any survivors.

The development comes as Boeing officials were due to meet with Lion Air on Wednesday, after Indonesia ordered an inspection of the US plane maker's 737-MAX jets.

Indonesia's transport minister Budi Karya Sumadi took the unusual step of ordering the temporary removal of Lion Air's technical director and several other staff who cleared the flight, citing government authority over the aviation sector.

He later stressed that the measure meant to free up the technical director to help with the crash probe.

DNA TESTING UNDERWAY

Jakarta police hospital chief Dr Musyafak told a news conference on Wednesday that 191 families have so far reported that they have family members who are victims of the flight JT610 crash.

Dr Musyafak added that out of the 191 families, 147 have provided DNA samples for identification purposes. He also appealed for more family members to come forward.

He said Indonesian authorities have received 48 body bags and that all of them contain body parts.

The forensic team comprise more than 15 forensic doctors, more than 10 forensic dentists and four DNA experts.

Several postmortems have been conducted but none of the remains have been identified so far, Dr Musyafak added.

Apart from DNA identification, authorities will likely require fingerprints, dental records as well as information on secondary marks like tattoos or if they wear rings.

"If it is possible, we will try to sew the bodies," he added.

Indonesian authorities are also providing family members with grief counselling.

"DAD, I LOVE YOU EVERY DAY"

Distraught relatives sifted through clothes, wallets and other retrieved personal effects on a Jakarta dockside, as authorities sent body parts to hospital for DNA testing

"He was the best husband in the world," 33-year-old Ningsi Ayorbaba said of her partner Ferdinand Paul Ayorbaba, who was on the flight.

"We had planned to celebrate our 15th anniversary in April...Today, I'm bringing in DNA samples."

Among the items plucked from the water was a smartphone case with the image of a couple walking hand-in-hand over a bridge.

The story went viral online and the pair were later identified as Ine Yunita Savitri and her husband Wahjoe Noegrohantoro, who was on the downed jet. Savitri was not on the plane.

On Tuesday, their daughter Samantha posted the image to her Instagram account with the words: "Dad, I love you every day".

"WORST IN THE WORLD"

Aviation experts say it is too early to determine what caused the accident.

But Lion's admission that the plane had an unspecified technical issue on a previous flight - as well as the plane's abrupt nosedive just 12 minutes after takeoff - have raised questions about whether it had any faults specific to the newly released model, including a speed-and-altitude system malfunction.

"The bigger picture here is that you've got a lot of American carriers flying the same aircraft," Stephen Wright, aviation expert at the University of Leeds, told AFP.

"Is there (a problem) that could affect other aircraft?"

The crash has also resurrected concerns about Indonesia's patchy air safety record which led to a now-lifted ban on its planes entering US and European airspace.

Lion's co-founder Rusdi Kirana, now Indonesia's ambassador to Malaysia, said in a 2015 interview that "my airline is the worst in the world, but you don't have a choice".

Founded in 1999, the budget carrier capitalised on a boom in Indonesia's aviation industry, but has been plagued by safety woes and complaints over unreliable scheduling and poor service.

It has been involved in a number of incidents including a fatal 2004 crash and a collision between two Lion Air planes at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta airport.

Indonesia's transport minister ordered an inspection of all Boeing 737-MAX aircraft on Tuesday.

Lion Air Managing Director Daniel Putut said the airline had "many questions" for the Chicago-based company and they would discuss the delivery of remaining aircraft 737-MAX models, Indonesian news website tirto.id reported.

Lion Air, Indonesia's biggest budget airline which has been engaged in huge expansion, announced earlier this year it was buying 50 Boeing-737 MAX 10 jets for US$6.24 billion.

Boeing suspended release of the fuel-efficient 737 MAX just days before its first commercial delivery last year due to an issue with engines.

But the narrow-body jet was subsequently cleared for commercial delivery and has had thousands of orders from more than 100 customers worldwide.

Boeing said it was providing technical assistance under the direction of Indonesian authorities, while the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is also helping the probe.

Additional reporting by Jack Board.