BMKG

Recovery teams expanded their search in the Java Sea on Jan. 5 as they raced to find bodies and wreckage from AirAsia Flight 8501, which authorities fear have drifted in rough weather that has hampered operations over the past week.

Weather was the "triggering factor" in the crash of AirAsia Flight 8501 with icing likely causing engine damage, Indonesian officials said, as rough seas Jan. 4 hampered the search for bodies and the sunken wreckage.

Indonesia's meteorological agency announced on Sunday that bad weather had been the triggering factor in the crash of AirAsia Flight 8501.

According to a preliminary report of the Indonesian meteorological agency, BMKG, as cited by the BBC News, icing may have caused the engine to stall.

BMKG claimed that the plane had probably flown into a storm.