Indonesia airliner crash: One of two black boxes recovered after 3 days

The discovery could offer critical clues to explaining why the plane with 62 people aboard slammed into the sea.

Hadi Tjahjanto, Indonesia's military chief, said that he was highly confident that the cockpit voice recorder from a Sriwijaya Air plane that crashed into the Java Sea could be found soon, following the retrieval of the flight data recorder.

Until now, searchers have sent 76 body bags containing human remains to police identification experts.

Okky Bisma, a 29-year-old flight attendant on the plane, was identified by his fingerprints, Indonesian officials said.

The National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS) is leading the search-and-rescue efforts with more than a dozen helicopters, 53 navy ships and 20 boats, and 2,600 rescue personnel.

Sriwijaya Air Flight 182 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Jakarta to Pontianak, Indonesia.

On Saturday, the Boeing 737–524 flying the route disappeared from radar four minutes after departure.

Officials confirmed that the aircraft crashed in the waters off the Thousand Islands, some 19 km (12 mi; 10 nmi) from the airport.

Based on reports from local fishermen in the area, the search for the aircraft was immediately initiated.

Although wreckage, human remains, and clothing had been found, the search for the full aircraft and all passengers is still ongoing.

The position of the cockpit voice and flight data recorder has been located by Indonesian authorities. (ILKHA)