That data shows that someone – possibly a pilot or someone who had forced their way into the cockpit – input orders to send the Boeing 737-800 into a nosedive, according to the WSJ report.

Aerial footage shows firefighters hosing down the charred remains of the residences in Santee, a suburb of San Diego.

But Russia's aviation agency says rescue operations will be difficult given the geographic features of the landscape.

A search has been launched involving at least two helicopters and rescue workers are on standby.

Forty-nine military personnel and four civilians were also injured and taken to hospital.

A search is still under way for 17 missing people.

The crash has been blamed on 'bad weather'.

The cockpit voice recorder could provide vital clues to what the desperate crew was saying when the flight from Jakarta to Pontianak in Borneo went down.

The Indonesian Boeing 737 crashed into the Java Sea shortly after take-off from Jakarta killing all 62 people on board.

The recorder is one of two black boxes that could prove crucial to explaining the crash.

A frantic search involving helicopters and a flotilla of warships appears to offer no hope of finding any survivors.

Two body bags have been received so far, one with passenger belongings and the other with body parts, say Jakarta police.