Russian Plane's First Day of AirAsia Flight Search Fruitless

BALI, January 4 (Sputnik) — The Russian Be-200 aircraft's efforts have not yet produced results on its first day of search operations, Indonesia's Air Force Liaison Officer Lt. Pinandita said Sunday.

"[Russia's Be-200 amphibious aircraft] has not found anything yet," Pinandita told Indonesia's DetikCom news website.

However, the Indonesian officer praised Russia's "sophisticated" plane to the news outlet for displaying search camera results directly on the airplane's screen and storing them as coordinates are defined.

According to Pinandita, the Be-200 returned to Jakarta's Halim airport after an hour-long flight.

Earlier on Saturday, Indonesia's transportation safety chief Tatang Kurniadi expressed hope that flight recorders from AirAsia Airbus A320-200 would be recovered with Russian assistance.

A team of 72 Russian divers and search experts arrived in Indonesia on Friday to join a multinational mission at the request of the Indonesian authorities. The Emergencies Ministry sent an Il-76 airlifter and a Be-200 amphibious aircraft, as well as a high-tech remote-controlled Folkon search vehicle capable of operating at maximum depths of 1,000 meters (3,280 feet).

Singapore-bound AirAsia flight QZ8501 vanished off radars some 40 minutes after takeoff from the Indonesian city of Surabaya last Sunday, December 28. To date, 34 bodies have been recovered and nine of the 162 passengers and crew members have been identified.