*** ----> Search teams recover seats, wheels from jet | THE DAILY TRIBUNE | KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN

Search teams recover seats, wheels from jet

Seats, wheels and other parts of a crashed Indonesian Lion Air jet were hauled from the depths yesterday, as authorities analysed black box data that may explain why the new plane plummeted into the Java Sea, killing 189 people.

Search teams have been scouring the seabed for the fuselage of the Boeing-737 MAX 8, which plunged into the waters off Indonesia’s northern coast shortly after takeoff Monday despite only having been in service a few months.  “There is a lot of little debris, plane wheels, and seats -- all totally destroyed and in pieces,” said Isswarto, commander of the Indonesian navy’s search-andrescue division.

Divers were searching an area about 25-35 metres deep, but have been finding fewer body parts than earlier in the week, he added. “They’re scattered everywhere and some may have been washed away by the current.” Dozens of body bags containing remains have been recovered from the crash site so far.

Television images showed divers tying ropes to twisted plane parts scattered along the seafloor, as navy personnel hauled a pair of wheels from the jet aboard a ship.