The discovery of the tail section of crashed Flight QZ8501 may lead investigators to the black box that recorded the fatal journey of AirAsia's Airbus A320,

USA Today reported Indonesia's search and rescue chief announced Wednesday that the back section of the plane had been spotted. The finding marks the first confirmed sighting of wreckage from the jet that disappeared on Dec. 28 with 162 passengers and crew on board.

Divers and an unmanned underwater vehicle identified and photographed the debris, National Search and Rescue chief Henry Soelistyo said.

"Today we successfully discovered the part of the plane that became the main aim since yesterday," Soelistyo said. "I can (assure) that this is part of the tail with the AirAsia mark on it."

The flight data and cockpit voice recorders of modern jetliners are typically located in their tail section, and officials hope that access to these so-called black boxes will shed light on what caused Flight QZ8501 to crash, the newspaper said.

Consequently, Indonesian investigators identified the search for debris in the area of the Java Sea, according to Reuters.

"With the finding of the tail, six (search and rescue) ships are already at the location to search within a radius of two nautical miles," Indroyono Soesilo, the Indonesian minister for maritime affairs, told reporters.

Soelistyo, meanwhile, noted that authorities are focused on recovering the bodies of all crash victims. So far, 40 bodies have been found, including one on Wednesday, USA Today said.

AirAsia said on Wednesday that it will offer family members about $100,000 in compensation for each passenger who perished in the accident. It has already given out $24,000 to families who face immediate financial hardship due to their loss.

The carrier's chief executive, Tony Fernandes, also took to Twitter to comment on the recent developments.

"I am led to believe the tail section has been found. If right part of tail section then the black box should be there," Fernandes wrote. "We need to find all parts soon so we can find all our guests to ease the pain of our families. That still is our priority."

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