Despite facing harsh weather conditions the search and retrieval operation for the remains of Flight 8501 is still ongoing. One of the recent developments of the search operation was spotting the tail end of the plane. The retrieval of this part of the plane where the black box is located will be crucial in determining the main reason why the plane crash.

Henry Bambang Soelistyo, the head of Indonesia's National Search and Rescue said that the team is still unable to acquire the plane's tail due to very powerful water current on the area and also the presence of very murky water, added reports shows photograph taken by divers and unmanned underwater vehicle of the plane's tail. The location of the plane's tail was pinpointed by one of Indonesia's survey ship that was dispatched to help in the retrieval of the plane.

Soelistyo said in an interview "Today we successfully discovered the part of the plane that became the main aim since yesterday. I can ensure that this is part of the tail with the AirAsia mark on it."

On his Twitter account, AirAsia Chief Executive Officer Tony Fernendes confirmed that what the search team discovered is indeed part of the crashed plane's tail section, he also added that if the team managed to salvage the right part of the tail it is there where the now critical black boxes are stored. The CEO also added that the main concern of the company right now is consoling the bereaved family of the 162 people who lost their lives in the tragic accident, adding that the company and the Indonesian government along with help from other foreign bodies are doing their utmost in order to recover the remains of those who perished in that disastrous event.

AirAsia has already released a statement that the families of those who were killed will be properly compensated in accordance with what is stipulated in Indonesian law. Sunu Widyatmoko, President of AirAsia Indonesia has already confirmed that the families of the victims will each receive $100,000 as compensation.