After days of poor weather and increasingly cumbersome conditions, the Indonesian navy has salvaged the tail of the downed AirAsia Flight QZ8501 plane that crashed off the coast of Borneo two weeks ago. Divers were able to pull the tail, so far the largest found piece of the wreckage, by using an inflatable device.

The search continues to find the rest of the plane, including the “black box” flight recorders that may offer clues as to why the aircraft went down. As it stands, icy weather is thought to be the reason for the tragic crash, yet remains unconfirmed. It has been reported the pilot of the aircraft requested a flight path change prior to losing contact with air traffic control.

AirAsia Flight QZ8501 lost radar contact during bad weather on the night of Dec. 28. 162 people were on board the flight en route from Surabaya to Singapore. So far, 48 dead bodies have been retrieved from the wreckage. The remains of the majority of additional passengers are believed to be located in the fuselage of the aircraft, which has yet to be located.

On Friday (Jan. 9), search officials detected pings in the Java Sea not far from where the tail of the plane was found. Most officials believe the pings were signaled from the highly coveted black box flight recorders. Rescue teams will continue to work tirelessly to find the boxes, as most flight recorders run out of battery power after a 30 day period or so.

Spotted by an unmanned underwater vessel, the rear portion of the Airbus A320-200 was retrieved at a depth of roughly 100 feet (30 meters). According to officials, the tail was found upside down, partially buried some 20 miles from the last point of contact with the plane, not far off the coast of Borneo.

Despite the relatively shallow waters, the increasingly inclement weather has severely hindered the search and recovery efforts. Bodies and pieces of debris continue to be pulled from the wreckage, but high wind, waves and stormy weather continue to pound the area.

The data recording “black boxes” are usually harbored in the rear part of the aircraft, yet none have been located in the tail retrieval of Flight 8501. They operate via locator beacons that send out electronic signals, even while partially damaged or submerged in water, for up to at least 30 days. Finding them has been the number one priority for recovery teams, as it is the best way to deduce vital information regarding how and why the plane went down on 40 minutes into its flight on Dec. 28.

Of the 162 people on board, 155 were passengers, seven were crew members. There were 17 children on the manifest, including a lone infant. Nearly all the passengers and crew were of Indonesian descent. One of the pilots was from France, while one of the passengers was carrying a UK passport.

Some 40 or so bodies of the victims have been retrieved intact, which has led many experts to conclude that a midair explosion or breakup of the aircraft is the least likely scenario. The search for the rest of the aircraft and passenger remains continues.