Second try to lift AirAsia fuselage from Java Sea fails

The effort to raise the fuselage from doomed AirAsia Flight 8501 failed again Sunday, and an Indonesian official said the wreckage may be too fragile to lift from the depths of the choppy, murky Java Sea.

On Sunday, a wire rope attached to lifting balloons broke. An attempt to raise the fuselage Saturday failed when the balloons deflated.

Indonesian Rear Adm. Widodo told the BBC that efforts to raise the fuselage have resulted in more cracks and parts breaking off.

Navy spokesman Manahan Simorangkir blamed a strong current for Sunday's failure. The rope had been fastened and linked to a ship, but broke again as the fuselage was lifted.

"We could not fight against nature," Simorangkir said. "We just hope the weather would change and be conducive."

Flight 8501 was bound for Singapore from Surabaya, Indonesia, in stormy weather on Dec. 28 when it suddenly lurched upward at fighter-jet speeds. Authorities say that called a air "stall" -- the engines kept roaring but the wings could no longer provide lift, causing the Airbus 320-200 to plummet into the sea. More than 90 bodies of the 162 people on board remain missing, and officials anticipate that most are in the fuselage.

The cause of the crash has not been determined, although officials have said weather probably was a factor. The pilot, citing weather, had asked for permission to increase altitude by 6,000 feet — to 38,000 feet — minutes before the plane disappeared from radar.

Air-traffic controllers had rejected the request, citing heavy air traffic in the area.

Divers reached the fuselage for the first time Friday. Dozens of navy divers have been fighting strong current and poor visibility while trying to raise the fuselage from the 100-feet-deep waters. The data and voice black box recorders have been recovered. The cockpit has been located, and the bodies of the pilot and co-pilot are believed to be in it.

Also Sunday, the Singapore military ended its involvement in the search effort, Antara news service reported. Singapore had been a key player in the search effort, and one of its ships found the fuselage. Singapore had provided more than 400 personnel, two C-130 planes, two helicopters, five ships and an underwater vehicle team.

Contributing: Associated Press