Doomed AirAsia flight QZ8501 ascended to an unusually high altitude at above normal speeds moments before it disappeared and crashed into the Java Sea last month, Indonesia's transport minister said on Tuesday.

Data gathered from radar readings indicate the Airbus A320-200 swiftly soared at 6,000 feet a minute before it went silent, transport minister Ignasius Jonan told an Indonesian parliamentary commission. All 162 people on board the plane died.

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Jonan said the speed was beyond normal because commercial planes usually ascend at only 1,000 to 2,000 feet per minute, adding only a fighter jet is capable of rising 6,000 feet per minute.

AirAsia flight 8501 crashed and sank to the bottom of the Java Sea on December 28 halfway to Singapore from Surabaya in Indonesia.

Forensic experts have so far identified 45 of 51 victims based on recovered remains, officials said.

The pilots had asked to climb to 38,000 feet, moments before the control tower lost track of flight 8501. The aircraft disappeared from radar minutes later, investigators said.

Last week, navy divers retrieved separately the plane's black boxes - the flight data and cockpit voice recorders - about a hundred feet into the Java Sea off south Borneo.

Investigators have yet to determine the exact cause of the crash, although stormy weather may have been a factor. Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee is expected to come up with a preliminary report on the crash within the week, after gathering data from the black boxes.

Last week, navy divers had a hard time raising the plane fuselage using inflatable balloons, due to 16-foot waves and powerful undercurrents. More bodies are expected to be recovered from the plane's main body.

TagsAirAsia, Java Sea, Indonesia, AirAsia crash, plane crash