Black box, landing gear of crashed Indonesian Lion Air plane found

Some 50 divers were involved in the search mission on the sea floor, about 500 meters northwest of the location where the pilot of the JT 610 flight last communicated with the air traffic control.

Meanwhile, Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) held a closed-door meeting with representatives of Boeing company and officials of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), KNKT chief said Thursday.

KNKT Chairman Soerjanto Tjahjono said the visit of 16 officials from Boeing and NTSB was aimed at assisting Indonesia in carrying out investigation into the crash of the brand new plane.

"We are yet to have sufficient knowledge about the new plane nor trainings related to new features and technology of the brand new plane model," Soerjanto said.

The single-aisle, twin-engine passenger jet was manufactured this year and was put into operation in mid-August, according to the low-cost airline.

The new model has a bigger body than other 737 planes, and is said to be equipped with more advanced engines and other advanced equipment.

Lion Air ordered as many as 218 units of the Boeing 737 Max 8 for its fleet, making it the first in Indonesia to operate the plane, which made its factory maiden flight in 2017.