An AirAsia jetliner crashed into the Java Sea on Dec. 28, killing all 162 crew and passengers on board the flight from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore. A massive international search is underway for bodies and wreckage. The efforts have been hindered by seasonal monsoon rains that on many days prevent divers and high-tech equipment from making progress. A look at what's known about the crash and the recovery operation.
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SEARCH FOR BLACK BOXES:
This week, divers and an unmanned underwater vehicle were able to capture the first images of the wreck. The tail of the Airbus A320, partially buried in the seabed, provided a boost to searchers. Officials hope that the cockpit voice and flight data recorders are still in the aircraft's rear, and experts plan to use a crane or a lifting balloon to hoist the wreckage from the seabed. On Friday, an official said ping-like sounds were heard about a kilometer (half mile) from the tail, but it was unclear if the signals were coming from the black boxes.
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CRASH INVESTIGATION:
It remains unclear what caused Flight 8501 to go down. The last contact the pilots had with air traffic control indicated they were entering stormy weather. They asked to climb from 32,000 feet (9,753 meters) to 38,000 feet (11,582 meters) to avoid threatening clouds, but were denied permission because of heavy air traffic above them. Four minutes later, the plane dropped off the radar. Floating bodies and pieces of debris were found about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the last point of contact.
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