BREAKING: Divers find black box recorder from Indonesian Lion Air flight that killed 189 people after crashing into the ocean
Indonesian divers have retrieved a black box from a Lion Air jet that crashed into the sea this week with 189 aboard and brought it back to a ship on the surface, one of the divers has told media.
'We dug and we got the black box,' from among debris in the mud on the sea floor, the diver, identified as Hendra, told broadcaster Metro TV on board the Baruna Jaya vessel.
The black box was intact, he said, without specifying if the item was the flight data recorder or the cockpit voice recorder.
Initial ocean searches for the missing fuselage of the Boeing 737-MAX 8 were unsuccessful.
Experts detected what they thought was the 22-metre-long part on the ocean floor - but unfortunately it turned out to be debris and passenger belongings.
Workers sift through the belongings of people killed in the doomed flight from Jakarta on Monday - a black box is yet to be found among the debris
Hundreds of people watched as more items collected form the ocean floor were brought to shore to be examined
Experts detected what they thought was the 22-metre-long part from the Lion Air plane (pictured) but it turned out to be passenger belongings and debris
Investigators have battled the elements in their recovery of aircraft fragments, but remain confident they would eventually find the black box.
Pings in regular intervals had been detected in early searches, but were lost due to the strength of currents
The head of Indonesia's Search and Rescue Agency Muhammad Syaugi said on Wednesday teams were confident they would locate the missing hull.
Data from flight-tracking sites showed the plane was unstable during the first minutes of its second last flight, showing erratic speeds, altitude and direction just after take off.
There was a devastating scene of footwear earlier worn by passengers on flight JT610 which had been laid out on white canvas and numbered
Heartbroken families gathered at the harbour where wreckage had been brought ashore
Workers clad in orange uniforms and gloves were pictured arranging evidence on a white mat
That data was similar to information transmitted in the first minutes of Monday's fatal flight, but could be put down to errors in the site's tracking software.
To confirm their suspicions, investigators would have to match it against data stored in the plane's black box flight recorders, which are yet to be found.
Lion Air confirmed the plane suffered a technical issue on Sunday, but stated the problems had been 'resolved according to procedure'.
The priority is finding the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder to help determine the cause of the disaster, safety experts said.
The Indonesian passports of two passengers were held up by a worker at the harbour
There was a devastating sight of aircraft debris scattered on large sheets of white in the wake of the crash
Crews set off on a mission out to the site of the crash in the hope of finding more missing parts
Just 13 minutes after taking off from Jakarta on Monday, flight JT-610 bound for Pangkal Pinang, an island north of the capital, lost contact with air control about 6.33am.
The Boeing 737 Max 8 was released in 2011 and was the fastest selling passenger aircraft in history, becoming the most-commonly used aircraft in the world.
Passengers on the plane's second last flight recalled a horror flight after passengers waited 30 minutes inside a sweltering cabin, then another 30 on the tarmac before take-off.
Some people vomited due to the heat and others likened the flight to a roller coaster ride as it constantly rose and fell throughout its duration.
Parts of the aircraft including a rogue un-inflated life jacket was pictured among the debris
Investigators stood by as families of passengers inspected the items that had been recovered
Piles of clothing were placed on a white canvas near rows of shoes of deceased passengers
The technical director of Lion Air who gave the green light for the plane to be flown on Monday has been given his marching orders by Indonesia's transport minister.
'Today we will remove Lion's technical director from his duties to be replaced by someone else, as well as technical staff' who cleared the flight to depart,' Budi Karya Sumadi told reporters on Wednesday.
He said the airline would undergo a ministry inspection and an industry-wide investigation into Indonesia's low-cost airlines would be conducted.
Two women embraced and sobbed at the harbour where items from the wreckage were recovered
Women aided in the identification of belongings of passengers that had been brought ashore
Workers carried the bodies of deceased passengers through the crowds in body bags
