Some Hundred Kilograms Debris Recovered of 7-Ton AirAsia Flight

Palangka Raya, C Kalimantan, Jan 6 (Antara) - The basic empty weight of AirAsia flight QZ8501 reached 70 tons, while the recovered debris, so far, weighs only some hundred kilograms, Nurcahyo Utomo, the National Committee for Transportation Safety (KNKT) investigator, stated here, Monday. The joint team led by the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) and supported by several countries such as Malaysia, Russia, Japan, the United States, Singapore, and Australia that sent their ships and aircraft, have found some debris. The debris included the right rear launcher, seat no.6-upper trunk, bottles for the launcher, panel flakes, a flight attendant's seat, and a right front launcher, he revealed. Another personnel of the Airbus company is expected to visit Pangkalan Bun to study the locations where the debris were found and help find the plane's fuselage, which is still missing. The European aircraft manufacturer Airbus has also offered to help in the investigation of the missing Airbus A320 aircraft. Senior Consultant of Airbus Ameer Brontoari noted in a statement in line with an international agreement ICAO Annex 13 that Airbus will offer full assistance in the investigations. The aircraft rolled out of the assembly plant and was handed over to AirAsia in 2008, the statement added. Airbus A320-200 has double engines with a single aisle and a seating capacity of 180 passengers. The AirAsia aircraft with 162 people aboard had gone missing after losing contact with the air traffic control on its way from Surabaya, Indonesia's second-largest city, to Singapore, on Sunday morning (Dec. 28). The aircraft, an Airbus 320-200, was carrying 155 passengers and seven crew members on board. The 162 passengers comprised 155 Indonesians, three South Koreans, a Singaporean, a Malaysian, a British, and a French national. So far, 37 bodies have been recovered, and nine of them have been identified.