Indonesian officials say they have called off the search and rescue for the downed AirAsia flight QZ8501, despite 56 people still unaccounted for.
The A320-200 aircraft crashed into the Java Sea in December last year with 162 people onboard.
According to officials, the plane lost contact with air control 42 minutes into a flight from Indonesia to Singapore.
Investigators are still going through black box data for an official cause of the crash, however, Indonesia’s Transport Minister Ignasius Jonan said in January data showed the plane was climbing at a faster speed than normal and stalled.
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The search for the plane sparked an international hunt, with ships and aircraft from a number of countries joining the team.
Since, parts of the Airbus have been recovered from the sea along with 106 of victims.
However, in recent weeks the search was scaled back, with a number of international vessels withdrawing their participation, News.com.au reported.
Indonesia’s civilian search and rescue agency head, S.B. Supriyadi said they continued hunting for bodies and wreckage, but little has been recovered.
As a result, the search would ‘end completely’ on Tuesday and the agency’s four ships would return to Jakarta.
AirAsia’s chief executive Tony Fernandes said operations couldn’t “go on indefinitely”.
“There is a time period and we’ve agreed with the families.”
Tony Fernandes, AirAsia CEO
The initial search for the aircraft was hampered by rough weather, which forced search crew to call off operations until seas had calmed.
The black box was located early January along with the majority of victims.
Five major parts of the Airbus were also located earlier in the year. Parts were found close to Borneo and included the plane’s tail.