Crews Rush to Find AirAsia Flight's Black Boxes

Now that the crash site has been identified the rush is on to find the black boxes from AirAsia Flight 8501, which went down over the Java Sea with 162 people on board Sunday.

U.S. Navy ships are on location to help find this critical piece of evidence in the search for answers to what happened to bring down the plane.

The families of those who died in the AirAsia crash gathered to pray Wednesday at the Crisis Centre at Surabaya Airport as search crews recovered bodies from the crash site in the Java Sea.

"I'm still hopeful for the miracle. Sorry, I cannot continue," one family member said.

The remains and a debris field were discovered about six miles from the last point of contact with the pilots and only about about 100 feet deep into the water.

Officials say sonar images have identified what appear to be large parts of the plane.

But weather conditions are not ideal and strong currents are moving the wreckage. Divers are also continuing to recover more bodies and the plane's black boxes with the help of hundreds of U.S. sailors.

"We are really saddened by the news," Sri Liow Tiong Lai, Malaysia's transport minister, said.

It's still unclear exactly what happened and why. Some speculate the pilot might have caused a stall by trying to gain altitude too quickly.

So far, the bodies recovered did not have life vests. Investigators say that suggests there was no time for passengers or the crew to sound the alarm.

And some of the recovered metal wreckage has burn marks, which could suggest an explosion or a possible fire.

"So once you have the debris, you look at it all, and fire stands out, explosions stand out. Was it just ripped apart or was something else going on here?" Tom Haueter, former NTSB investigator, asked.

Wednesday marked the start of identifying victims whose bodies have been recovered. U.S. sailors are also helping with 24-hour search operations with helicopters, advanced radar, and sonar.