AirAsia Flight 8501: Plane's Fuselage Spotted in Java Sea

— -- The fuselage of downed AirAsia Flight 8501 has been spotted in the Java Sea, Singapore’s defense minister, Ng Eng Hen, confirmed today, as underwater images have emerged showing the main plane wreckage.

Images released by the defense minister showed sections of the fuselage with lettering on the side of the plane visible in the black-and-white images.

“I hope that with the fuselage located, some form of closure can come to the families of the victims to ease their grief,” he said in a statement posted to Facebook.

AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes confirmed that the fuselage has been found.

Authorities with Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency will now begin the recovery operations.

The crash on Dec. 28 killed all 162 people on board.

The plane’s black boxes have been recovered in recent days, and authorities are optimistic that the cockpit voice and flight data recorders will help experts better understand what caused the plane to crash.