Investigators have confirmed that the Lion Air plane was intact and its engines were running, when it crashed last week. That means there was no explosion or inflight break up in the air.
Investigators also confirmed that on the previous flight from Bali to Jakarta, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 experienced a large altitude fluctuation. “After 10 minutes in the air, the plane dropped as if it was losing power,” a passenger on that flight stated.
Search teams say they have lost the signal from the aircraft’s yet to be recovered cockpit voice recorder. Pings from the recorder were heard on Saturday but “we don’t hear the ping signal today [Sunday],” Muhammad Syaugi, head of Indonesia’s Search and Rescue Agency, Basarnas, said. “We checked that spot, located around 50 metres from the location of finding the first black box. But we can’t find the CVR (cockpit voice recorder) yet,” Syaugi said.
Sixty-nine hours of flight data was downloaded from the recorder according to the National Transportation Safety Committee deputy chairman Haryo. To add to the tragedy, a volunteer diver, Syahrul Anto, died Friday during the search.