Main PageIce may have caused AirAsia crash - agency
Jakarta - Weather was the "triggering factor" in the
fatal crash of AirAsia Flight 8501 a week ago, with
icing likely causing engine damage, according to
Indonesia's meteorological agency.
The Airbus A320-200 crashed during a storm en
route from Indonesia's second city Surabaya to
Singapore, and relief workers are hunting for flight
data recorders to determine the cause of the crash.
But an initial report on the website of BMKG,
Indonesia's meteorological agency, suggests the
weather at the time the plane went down sparked
the disaster after it appeared to fly into storm
clouds.
"Based on the available data received on the location
of the aircraft's last contact, the weather was the
triggering factor behind the accident," said the
report.
"The most probable weather phenomenon was icing
which can cause engine damage due to a cooling
process. This is just one of the possibilities that
occurred based on the analysis of existing
meteorological data," it said.
Before take-off, the pilot of Flight 8501 had asked for
permission to fly at a higher altitude to avoid the
storm, but the request was not approved due to
other planes above him on the popular route,
according to AirNav, Indonesia's air traffic control.
In his last communication, Captain Iriyanto, an
experienced former air force pilot, said he wanted to
change course to avoid the menacing storm system.
Then all contact was lost, about 40 minutes after the
plane had taken off.
Major parts of the Airbus A320-200 were found in
the sea off the island of Borneo late on Friday and
on Saturday, raising hopes that the remaining
bodies and the crucial "black box" recorders would
soon be located. So far 30 bodies have been found.
High seas throughout the week have hampered the
relief process, a huge operation assisted by several
countries including the United States and Russia, but
divers were preparing to go down to the wreckage
Sunday as the weather cleared.
"The waves are calmer, only one to two metres
(three to seven feet) high," search and rescue official
S.B Supriyadi told AFP, adding that 95 divers were on
standby on various ships.
"We'll be concentrating on the underwater search,
hopefully we'll be able to evacuate more bodies. We
want to speed up the evacuation of bodies which
might be stuck inside the plane's body," he said.
He said they would be using sonar equipment in
their underwater searches, while aircraft would
continue to scour the sea and coastline.
Indonesia has pledged to investigate flight violations
by AirAsia, saying the ill-fated aircraft had been
flying on an unauthorised schedule when it crashed.
The airline has now been suspended from flying the
Surabaya-Singapore route.
The transport ministry said AirAsia Indonesia had
not been permitted to fly the route on Sundays and
had not asked to change its schedule, but the Civil
Aviation Authority of Singapore said it had granted
permission for the airline's Sunday flight.
It was unclear how the airline, a unit of Malaysia-
based AirAsia, had been able to fly without the
necessary authorisation from its starting point.
The company has declined to comment until the
probe is complete, but said it would "fully co-
operate" with the government.
Of the 162 passengers and crew on board, 155 were
Indonesian, with three South Koreans, one
Singaporean, one Malaysian, one Briton and a
Frenchman - co-pilot Remi Plesel.
fatal crash of AirAsia Flight 8501 a week ago, with
icing likely causing engine damage, according to
Indonesia's meteorological agency.
The Airbus A320-200 crashed during a storm en
route from Indonesia's second city Surabaya to
Singapore, and relief workers are hunting for flight
data recorders to determine the cause of the crash.
But an initial report on the website of BMKG,
Indonesia's meteorological agency, suggests the
weather at the time the plane went down sparked
the disaster after it appeared to fly into storm
clouds.
"Based on the available data received on the location
of the aircraft's last contact, the weather was the
triggering factor behind the accident," said the
report.
"The most probable weather phenomenon was icing
which can cause engine damage due to a cooling
process. This is just one of the possibilities that
occurred based on the analysis of existing
meteorological data," it said.
Before take-off, the pilot of Flight 8501 had asked for
permission to fly at a higher altitude to avoid the
storm, but the request was not approved due to
other planes above him on the popular route,
according to AirNav, Indonesia's air traffic control.
In his last communication, Captain Iriyanto, an
experienced former air force pilot, said he wanted to
change course to avoid the menacing storm system.
Then all contact was lost, about 40 minutes after the
plane had taken off.
Major parts of the Airbus A320-200 were found in
the sea off the island of Borneo late on Friday and
on Saturday, raising hopes that the remaining
bodies and the crucial "black box" recorders would
soon be located. So far 30 bodies have been found.
High seas throughout the week have hampered the
relief process, a huge operation assisted by several
countries including the United States and Russia, but
divers were preparing to go down to the wreckage
Sunday as the weather cleared.
"The waves are calmer, only one to two metres
(three to seven feet) high," search and rescue official
S.B Supriyadi told AFP, adding that 95 divers were on
standby on various ships.
"We'll be concentrating on the underwater search,
hopefully we'll be able to evacuate more bodies. We
want to speed up the evacuation of bodies which
might be stuck inside the plane's body," he said.
He said they would be using sonar equipment in
their underwater searches, while aircraft would
continue to scour the sea and coastline.
Indonesia has pledged to investigate flight violations
by AirAsia, saying the ill-fated aircraft had been
flying on an unauthorised schedule when it crashed.
The airline has now been suspended from flying the
Surabaya-Singapore route.
The transport ministry said AirAsia Indonesia had
not been permitted to fly the route on Sundays and
had not asked to change its schedule, but the Civil
Aviation Authority of Singapore said it had granted
permission for the airline's Sunday flight.
It was unclear how the airline, a unit of Malaysia-
based AirAsia, had been able to fly without the
necessary authorisation from its starting point.
The company has declined to comment until the
probe is complete, but said it would "fully co-
operate" with the government.
Of the 162 passengers and crew on board, 155 were
Indonesian, with three South Koreans, one
Singaporean, one Malaysian, one Briton and a
Frenchman - co-pilot Remi Plesel.
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