AirAsia QZ8501 likely to be on sea floor: Rescue officials optimistic of finding WRECKAGE soon

An Indonesian Search and Rescue official has said it is likely QZ8501 is now on the sea floor.

“The last coordinates were in the sea so it is likely it is on the sea floor,” Chief Marshal Bambang Soelistyo told a press conference at Soekarno Hatta Airport, Jakarta, on Monday.

According to Bambang search and rescue authorities are using a sonar system to detect the missing plane.

“They have a sonar system, [the system] can detect to a depth of about 1000-2000 meters,” said Bambang.

Agence France-Presse ✔ @AFP

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#BREAKING AirAsia Flight #QZ8501 likely 'at bottom of sea': Indonesia search chief

9:26 AM - 29 Dec 2014

Wreckage soon

Indonesia officials have struck an optimistic tone about the possibility of finding wreckage from QZ8501 - if indeed the plane crashed into the water. That’s partly because of the relatively shallow depth (46m) of the Java Sea, the part of the western Pacific Ocean where the aircraft vanished from radar screens.

In contrast, the faint Indian Ocean signals detected by the towed pinger locator aboard the Ocean Shield, in the search for MH370, were heard nearly 100 times deeper, at around 4,570m. - Agencies