AIR ASIA
Surabaya residents pray for victims of the AirAsia flight QZ8501 crash on 31 December, 2014 in Surabaya, Indonesia. A massive recovery operation has begun following confirmation from Indonesian officials that remains and debris found in the waters off Borneo are from the missing AirAsia plane. Flight QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore, with 162 people on board, lost contact with air traffic control at 07:24 am local time on 28 December Oscar Siagian/Getty Images

After a brief respite, bad weather continued to hamper search operations and recovery work for the remains of the AirAsia flight QZ8501, as officials claimed it could take a week to find the black box of the aircraft.

Doubts remain over the location of the main wreckage, as crew workers stood by to descend to a large object detected by sonar on the ocean floor at around 100-165 feet.

None of the black box "pings" have been detected as yet, said Toos Sanitiyoso, an air safety investigator with the National Committee for Transportation Safety.

He hoped that the black box flight data and voice recorders could be found within a week, suggesting there was still doubt over the plane's location, reports Reuters.

Frogman commander Lieutenant Edi Tirkayasa said the weather was making it difficult for even professional rescue divers.

"This is very difficult even with sophisticated equipment. With weather like this, who knows. We are still hopeful and optimistic that they'll find it. They must."

Radar images suggest that the plane stalled as it climbed steeply to avoid a storm about 40 minutes into the flight.

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