Wreckage Found in Search for Indonesian Plane

Wreckage from an Indonesian airliner that vanished from radar screens 10 days ago was today found in the sea close to where it disappeared.

Fishermen pulled a section of the tail of the Boeing 737-400 from the water a few hundred yards off the western coast of Sulawesi island. Rescue workers said a serial number on the tail section confirmed that the wreckage was from Adam Air Flight KI-574.

Fragments from the cockpit, seats and fuselage were also found, and other small pieces of debris were found washed up on the shore.

The plane disappeared on New Year's Day during a flight from Surabaya, Indonesia's second-biggest city, to the resort of Manado, on Sulawesi island. There were 102 people on board.

"I cried when I heard [that wreckage had been found], but I am now relieved," Rosmala Dewi, whose daughter was a stewardess on the flight, said. "At the very least, we now have a sign."

The hunt for the plane has been severely hampered because neither of its two locator beacons, which are supposed to operate in the event of a crash, were working.

The Indonesian government mobilised almost 3,000 soldiers, police and civilians to search dense jungles on the west of Sulawesi, while sonar-equipped ships and planes spent days searching the sea.

It is not yet known what caused the crash. The pilot of the 17-year-old plane, which had seven previous owners, changed course twice because of storms and high winds, but did not issue a mayday or report technical problems.

Relatives endured an agonising wait for news, made worse when, a day after the plane disappeared, the authorities wrongly reported that wreckage had been found, along with 12 survivors.

The first clear indication of the plane's fate came on Monday when an Indonesian ship detected metal on the seabed in deep waters off Sulawesi, a discovery later confirmed by a US navy ship. Three US nationals were on board the plane.

Local fisherman told authorities some of them saw a low-flying and seemingly unstable aircraft in the area on the day of the crash, but lost sight of it before hearing a loud noise.

Adam Air is one of dozens of budget carriers that sprang up in Indonesia after the industry was deregulated in the 1990s. The rapid expansion led to cheap flights throughout Indonesia, but has raised concerns over maintenance.