The crackdown comes as searchers continue to fight bad weather while combing the Java Sea for bodies and wreckage of the Airbus A320 that crashed Dec. 28, killing all 162 passengers and crew on board.
CBS News` Allen Pizzey reports that searchers finally got a break in the weather Monday, which could help in the hunt for the vital "black boxes," or flight data and cockpit voice recorders.
Since the plane`s disappearance, a massive international hunt has been underway. So far, 37 bodies have been recovered, including three more Monday, and sonar has identified five large pieces of what`s believed to be the plane on the ocean floor. Divers have tried to get a visual on the objects, but strong currents, silt and mud have kept them from reaching it.
Pizzey reports that an Indonesian Navy captain said Monday he was "confident" his ship had pinpointed the tail section of the plane where the black boxes are located, but location of the key wreckage was not confirmed, and there had been no detection of the "pings" emitted by the black boxes.
The plane was traveling between Surabaya, Indonesia`s second-largest city, and Singapore on a Sunday. Some officials had since said its permit for the popular route was only for Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, and that AirAsia quietly switched three of those days.
However, an Indonesian news portal quoted the head of the regional aviation authority as saying the flight was, in fact, "not illegal, as everyone was informed and AirAsia had the necessary permits to operate."
AirAsia co-founder and co-owner Kamaruddin Meranun insisted the airline had not violated any rules regarding flying permits in Indonesia.
"Our operations have followed all procedural requirements in Indonesia and the flight QZ8501 was a legitimate one," Meranun told CBS News.
Amid the conflicting reports it remained unclear whether AirAsia had current paperwork allowing them to fly the Surabaya to Singapore route on Dec. 28, but officials in Singapore have said the plane was authorized to fly on Sundays from their end.
While the airline is being investigated, Indonesia announced on Saturday that it banned all AirAsia flights between Surabaya and Singapore.
Murjatmodjo said the ministry also issued a directive Dec. 31 ordering all airlines to provide pilots with up-to-date weather reports before they take off. Currently, it`s up to the captain and co-pilot to research and evaluate flying conditions before departing. In other countries, the carrier`s flight operations department performs that task for them.
Dozens of airlines emerged after Indonesia deregulated its aviation industry in the 1990s, making air travel affordable for the first time for many in the world`s fourth most populous nation. But a string of accidents in recent years has raised urgent questions about the safety of Indonesia`s booming airline sector, with experts saying poor maintenance, rule-bending, and a shortage of trained professionals are partly to blame.
AirAsia, which began operations in 2001 and quickly became one of the region`s leaders in low-cost air travel, has not experienced any other crashes and is widely considered a benchmark for safety and professionalism.
It is not known what caused Flight 8501 to crash into the Java Sea 42 minutes after taking off on what was supposed to be a two-hour flight. Just before losing contact, the pilot told air traffic control that he was approaching threatening clouds, but was denied permission to climb to a higher altitude because of heavy air traffic.
The bodies and debris recovered so far have not had any burn marks, reports Pizzey, which aviation experts say rules out an onboard explosion, leaving the options of a catastrophic nose dive or an attempt to belly land on the sea in bad weather.
Icing caused by the storm that the pilots couldn`t avoid was a "triggering factor" in the crash, according to a report by Indonesia`s Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency.
As bodies have been flown back to Surabaya, one by one, many victims` family members have struggled to deal with the slow process and fears that their loved ones may never be found.
On Monday, the relatives were offered a chance to visit the site where the plane crashed into the sea, to scatter flowers and say good-bye.
"I will facilitate the families of the victims who want to see the scene directly and how rescuers are battling high waves and bad weather to search for their loved ones and the plane," said Gen. Moeldoko, Indonesia`s top military commander. "We`ll prepare two aircraft and a warship for them to go there and throw flowers."
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