No Threats Discovered On CVR, No Explosion Indicated

Investigators said Monday they have found no evidence of terrorism associated with the AirAsia QZ8501 accident.

The plane, an Airbus A320-200, went down last month in the Java Sea with 162 people on board. Both the cockpit voice and flight data recorders have been recovered from the wreckage.

The Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC) said it had listened to the entire recording from the CVR, and that there were "no threats" that would suggest foul play or terrorism. The NTSC's Andreas Hananto told Reuters that if there had been any terrorism, "there would have been a threat of some kind."

He said that "the recording indicates that the pilot was busy with handling the plane," and that no voices other than the pilots' were heard on the recording. "We didn't hear any sounds of gunfire or explosions. For the time being, based on that, we can eliminate the possibility of terrorism," he said.

He did not elaborate on what was said during the flight's final moments.

Hananto said the team of about 20 hopes to finish a transcription of the recording this week. There was no report concerning what data was recovered from the Flight Data Recorder.  The investigation is expected to take about a year.

FMI: www.indonesia.go.id/en/ministries/ministers/ministry-of-transportation/1670-profile/183-kementerian-perhubungan