Weather halts latest bid to lift AirAsia Flight QZ8501 fuselage
Bad weather thwarted divers' plans Monday for yet another attempt at raising the fragile fuselage of AirAsia Flight QZ8501 from the bottom of the Java Sea, after two unsuccessful attempts over the weekend, officials said, according to CNN.
The previous bids to bring the piece of wreckage, estimated to be at least 10 meters (33 feet) long, out of the water failed after lines being used to lift it broke, according to Indonesian authorities.
On Saturday, sharp parts of debris sliced through a strap. On Sunday, a wire rope snapped after the fuselage had reached the surface of the water.
The military divers were hoping to avoid similar problems Monday by using twice as much rope as the day before, said Suryadi B. Supriyadi, director of operations and training for Indonesia's search and rescue agency. They were also putting the inflatable bags being used to lift the wreckage inside the fuselage, he said.
But the deteriorating weather conditions halted the efforts, Supriyadi said later Monday.
Officials are aiming to float the wreckage to the surface and then hoist it onto a waiting ship.