Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 (QZ8501/AWQ8501) was a scheduled international passenger flight, operated by AirAsia Group affiliate Indonesia AirAsia, from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore. On 28 December 2014, the aircraft operating the route, an Airbus A320-216, crashed in bad weather, killing all 155 passengers and 7 crew on board.[8] Debris from the plane and human remains were found two days after the crash in the Karimata Strait. Recovery is in progress.[9]
The accident is the second-deadliest in Indonesian territory, behind Garuda Indonesia Flight 152 in 1997, and the second-deadliest involving an A320, behind TAM Airlines Flight 3054 in 2007.[10] It was also AirAsia Group's first fatal accident since its founding in 1996.
Contents [hide]
1 Disappearance
1.1 Timeline of disappearance
2 Aircraft
3 Passengers and crew
4 Recovery effort
4.1 Wreckage
5 Response and reaction
6 See also
7 Notes
8 References
9 External links
Disappearance[edit]
The flight departed from Juanda International Airport, Surabaya, at 05:35 Western Indonesian Time (WIB, UTC+7) and was scheduled to arrive at Singapore Changi Airport at 08:30 Singapore Standard Time (SST, UTC+8).[11] The total aircraft weight at take-off, including 8,296 kg (18,290 lb) of fuel, was 63,624 kg (140,267 lb). The estimated fuel consumption for the trip was 5,121 kg (11,290 lb).[12]
The plane was under Indonesian air traffic control (Jakarta) when it requested and received permission to deviate left from its original flight path because of poor weather conditions.[13] The pilot then requested to climb from FL 320 to FL 380,[14] equivalent to 32,000 to 38,000 feet (9,750 to 11,600 m), giving no reason this time, according to the director of Safety and Standard AirNav Indonesia.[15] The request to climb was deferred by air traffic controllers because of heavy air traffic: there were seven other aircraft in the vicinity, all at higher altitudes.[16][17] ATC offered permission to climb at 06:14, but there was no acknowledgement from the pilots.[15] The aircraft disappeared from radar at 06:17 and the ADS-B transponder signal was lost at 06:18 WIB.[2] The last altitude recorded by Flightradar24 from the ADS-B transponder was 32,000 ft (9,750 m).[11] The plane disappeared near Belitung island, over the Java Sea between Kalimantan (Borneo) and Java.[18][19] A meteorological analysis revealed that the aircraft was traversing a storm cluster during the minutes prior to its disappearance.[20]
The Indonesian Transport Ministry reported that no distress signal was sent from the missing aircraft.[21][22]
Flight path with last contact and debris field on the left and infrared satellite imagery (taken at 7:32 WIB) with flight path superimposed on the right. On this false-colour, water-vapour-band image, blue represents warmer temperatures, while red and ultimately black represents the cold tops of high-altitude clouds.
Timeline of disappearance[edit]
Elapsed (HH:MM) Time Event
UTC WIB
UTC+7 SST
UTC+8
00:00 27 December 28 December Flight departed from Juanda International Airport.[a] Scheduled departure was 05:20 WIB.[11][25]
22:35 05:35 06:35
00:37 23:12 06:12 07:12 Pilots requested and received air traffic controller (ATC) clearance to divert left from the flight plan to avoid bad weather. The pilot then also requested permission to climb from 32,000 ft (9,800 m) to 38,000 ft (12,000 m). Jakarta ATC deferred this request because of traffic.[25][26][27]
00:39 23:14 06:14 07:14 ATC offered permission to climb, but no response was received from pilots.[15]
00:42 23:17 06:17 07:17 Radar contact was lost, according to AirNav Indonesia. AirAsia initially reported that contact was lost at 06:24.[24][25][28][29]
00:43 23:18 06:18 07:18 ADS-B transponder signal was lost, with last position reported as 3.3708°S 109.6911°E, according to Indonesia's Ministry of Transport.[2]
01:20 23:55 06:55 07:55 AirAsia Flight QZ8501 was officially declared missing. Its last known position is over the Java Sea, Karimata Strait between the islands of Belitung and Kalimantan.[30]
01:55 28 December 07:30 08:30 The aircraft missed scheduled arrival at Singapore Changi Airport.[11]
00:30
04:47 03:22 10:22 11:22 Search and rescue (SAR) operations were activated by the Indonesia National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS) from the Pangkal Pinang office.[31]
04:55 03:30 10:30 11:30 The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and Changi Airport Group (CAG) Crisis Management Centres were reported to have been activated working with the airline’s crisis management team.[32]
05:06 03:41 10:41 11:41 AirAsia announced on Facebook and Twitter (six minutes later) that AirAsia flight QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore lost contact with air traffic control.[33][34]
Aircraft[edit]
The aircraft was an Airbus A320-216,[b] with serial number 3648, registered as PK-AXC. It first flew on 25 September 2008, and was newly delivered to AirAsia on 15 October 2008. The aircraft had accumulated approximately 23,000 flight hours over 13,600 flights. It had undergone its most recent scheduled maintenance on 16 November 2014.[24] The aircraft was powered by two CFM International CFM56-5B6 engines and was configured to carry 180 passengers.[35]
Passengers and crew[edit]
Persons on board by nationality[36]
Nationality No.
Indonesia[c] 155
South Korea 3
France[d] 1
Malaysia 1
Singapore 1
United Kingdom[e][37] 1
Total 162
AirAsia released details of the 155 passengers which included 137 adults, 17 children, and one infant. The crew consisted of two pilots and four flight attendants. A company engineer was also on board.[38]
The pilots aboard the flight were:[39]
Captain Iriyanto,[f] age 53, an Indonesian national, had a total of 20,537 flying hours, of which 6,100 were with AirAsia Indonesia on the Airbus A320. A resident of Sidoarjo, East Java, Iriyanto began his career with the Indonesian Air Force, graduating from pilot school in 1983 and flying F-5 and F-16 aircraft. He took early retirement from the Air Force in the mid-1990s to join Adam Air, and later worked for Merpati Nusantara Airlines and Sriwijaya Air before joining Indonesia AirAsia.[40]
First Officer Rémi Emmanuel Plesel, age 46, a French national, had a total of 2,275 flying hours with AirAsia Indonesia.[38] He was originally from Le Marigot, Martinique,[41] and had studied and worked in Paris. He was living in Indonesia.[42]
Recovery effort[edit]
Shortly after the plane was confirmed to be missing, unconfirmed reports stated that wreckage had been found off the island of Belitung in Indonesia.[43][44][45] Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS) deployed seven ships and two helicopters to search the shores of Belitung and Kalimantan.[46] The Indonesian Navy and the provincial Indonesian National Police Air and Water Unit each sent out search and rescue teams.[47] In addition, an Indonesian Air Force Boeing 737 reconnaissance aircraft was dispatched to the last known location of the airliner.[48]
The Indonesian Navy dispatched four ships by the end of the first search day and the Air Force deployed aircraft including a CASA/IPTN CN-235.[49] The Indonesian Army deployed ground troops to search the shores and mountains of adjacent islands.[50] Local fishermen also participated in the search.
Ongoing search and rescue operations were under the guidance of the Civil Aviation Authority of Indonesia.[51] The search was suspended at 7:45 pm local time on 28 December due to darkness and bad weather, to be resumed in daylight.[52] An operations center to coordinate search efforts was set up in Pangkal Pinang.[53] The search area was a 270-nautical-mile (500 km) radius near Belitung Island.[54]
Search and rescue operations quickly became an international effort. By 30 December naval and air units from Singapore, Malaysia and Australia had joined Indonesian authorities in patrolling designated search areas.[55] Singapore's Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC), managed by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and supported by various agencies, including the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF), had also initially deployed a C-130 Hercules aircraft to aid in the search and rescue operation.[56] An officer from Singapore will be deployed to Jakarta to coordinate with the Indonesian authorities on the search operations, and two more C-130 Hercules aircraft will be deployed for the second day of the search and rescue operation.[57] A Formidable-class frigate, a Victory-class corvette, a Landing Ship Tank, and a submarine support and rescue vessel subsequently took part in the search and rescue after Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency accepted the offer of help from the Republic of Singapore Navy. BASARNAS also accepted an offer from Singapore's Ministry of Transport of help from specialist teams from the Air Accident and Investigation Bureau and underwater locator equipment.[58]
The Malaysian government set up a rescue coordination centre at Subang and deployed three military vessels and three aircraft, including a C-130 Hercules, to assist in search and rescue operations.[59][60][61] Australia deployed a P-3 Orion to assist in the search and rescue operation.[62] India put three ships and P-8 Poseidon maritime surveillance aircraft on standby for assistance in the search operation, including one ship in the Bay of Bengal and another in the Andaman Sea.[63] Elements of the United States Navy joined the search effort following a request by the Indonesian Government. The USS Sampson arrived on station late on 30 December to contribute to search efforts.[64] Another warship, USS Fort Worth arrived on 3 January.[65]
Currently various vessels and aircraft from Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, South Korea, Japan, China, the United States, Russia and others are participating in the search.[66][67][68][69] BASARNAS reported that this fleet includes three ships with "under water" detectors and two fuel tankers seconded to ensure efficient operation of the vessels in the search area.[70] On 2 January, the Indonesian Ministry of Transport reported that two other Indonesian tender vessels have been equipped with detectors for both pings from flight recorder ("blackbox") beacons and underwater (airframe) metal, as well as multibeam side scan sonar.[71] Personnel on both vessels include representatives from Singapore and the U.S. NTSB.
Wreckage[edit]
On 28 December, the day of the disappearance, a fisherman observed "a lot of debris, small and large, near Pulau Tujuh. [...] The largest was 4 metres (13 ft) long and 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) wide. They were red coloured with white silver. It looked like the Air Asia colours."[72][73][74] However, he only reported this the following evening, after he had returned home and heard of the incident. Another fisherman reported that, while moored on Sunday at Pulau Senggora, south of the town of Pangkalan Bun in Central Kalimantan, "Around 7am, I heard a loud booming sound. Soon afterwards, there was haze that usually happened only during the dry season. [...] Before the booming sound, my friends saw a plane from above Pulau Senggaro heading towards the sea. The plane was said to be flying relatively low but then disappeared."[75][76]
The fishermen's reports, delivered the next day, were credited with guiding the search and rescue team to the vicinity of the first debris found.[75] On 30 December, items resembling a plane door and an emergency slide were spotted by search aircraft, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from where the plane last contacted air traffic control; later, other debris was spotted in the surrounding area.[77][78][79] Indonesian authorities later confirmed that the item found in the Karimata Strait is a portion of an airframe.[80] Bodies, thought to be those of passengers, have been found in the waters of Kumai Gulf, near Pangkalan Bun.[81][82] The Indonesian Navy was sent to the area immediately.[83] At 10:05 UTC, Reuters, quoting Indonesian official Manahan Simorangkir, reported that 40 bodies had been recovered,[84] but this was later retracted by an Indonesian navy spokesman as a "miscommunication by staff".[85] Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency chief Bambang Soelistyon stated that three bodies were recovered by the warship KRI Bung Tomo. At around 13:15 BBC News reported that the debris and bodies found in the Java Sea were from the Indonesia AirAsia Airbus A320.[86] Also on 30 December Indonesia's Search and Rescue Services reported that the wreckage of the aircraft had been located on the Java Sea floor, 97–100 nautical miles (180–185 km) southwest of Pangkalan Bun. The fuselage had broken up into several large parts but was still easily recognizable. The next day, the head of the Search and Rescue service denied that the fuselage had been found.[2]
On 31 December, BASARNAS claimed that a sonar image obtained 30 December by an Indonesian naval ship appears to show an aircraft upside-down on the seafloor in about 24–30 m (80–100 ft) of water, approximately 3.2–3.5 km (2.0–2.2 mi) from the debris found on 30 December.[87][88][89] The head of the Search and Rescue Agency also denied the existence of any sonar images of the wreckage (as well as the reported recovery of a body wearing a life vest).[2] He stressed that only official information from his Search and Rescue service can be considered to be reliable.
On 2 January 2015, BASARNAS reported evidence of a fuel slick on the water surface in the search area, but detection of the fuselage remains unconfirmed.[70]
At a press conference given on the morning of 3 January by BASARNAS, the discovery of two large submerged objects was reported: 9.4m × 4.8m × 0.4m, and a thin object 7.2m × 0.5m.[90] Also, the previously reported fuel slick was confirmed. A later media report mentioned four large sections of wreckage, the largest being 18m × 5.4m × 2.2m located at 3.9242°S 110.5252°E.[91] Later in the day, BASARNAS announced[92] the discovery of the two larger "adjacent" objects in the afternoon of 3 January was confirmed, but apparently not "adjacent" to the first two somewhat separated items found the previous day. The two additional items were observed to be 18m × 5.4m × 2.2m and 12.4m × 0.6m × 0.5m. No more bodies were found, leaving the total at 30. The search resources were reported to include 5 fixed-wing aircraft, 9 helicopters, and 26 ships, including the two tankers. Fuel logistics for this fleet requires careful planning. Twenty-two expert Russian divers arrived. The 3–4m wave height on 4 January precluded diving, but better conditions were expected the next day. Personal effects such as glasses and shoes were discovered in the area.[93]
On 7 January divers found parts of the plane including a portion of the tail, which may contain the flight recorders.[94] Other portions of the tail are expected to lie nearby.[95][96]
Response and reaction[edit]
Secondary radar image shows Flight 8501 (circled in yellow) at an altitude of 36,300 ft (11,100 m) and climbing, travelling at 353 kn (654 km/h; 406 mph) ground speed.[2]
Following the disappearance, all AirAsia subsidiaries changed their website and social media branding to greyscale images, in mourning for the presumed deaths of the passengers; Changi Airport's Facebook page was similarly changed as well.[97][98] Malaysia Airlines, who had two hull losses the same year, followed suit a few days later.[99][100] An emergency call center has also been established by the airline, for family of those who were on board the aircraft,[101] and an emergency information center was set up at Juanda International Airport, providing hourly updates and lodging for relatives.[102] Smaller posts were also opened at Soekarno–Hatta International Airport[103] and Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport.[104]
In addition:
Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong expressed his condolences via Twitter[105] and called Indonesian President Joko Widodo[citation needed], offering to help in the search.
Leaders of other nearby countries expressed condolences and offered assistance.[106][107]
On 31 December 2014, Indonesia AirAsia retired the flight number QZ8501 and changed it to QZ678.[108]
On the day of the disappearance, professional airline pilots who fly through the vicinity of the disappearance described the nature of thunderstorm activity there: "I go through close to there at [FL]380 all the time. I hate it. The thing that gets you the most are the buildups that aren't raining yet. Middle of the night plugging along and you just get the snot kicked out of you from something you can't see or paint [on the weather radar]."[109][self-published source?] The risk of aerodynamic instability associated with attempting to fly over large thunderheads was also mentioned.
BBC News reported on 2 January 2015 "that AirAsia did not have official permission to fly the Surabaya–Singapore route on Sunday – the day of the crash – but was licensed on four other days of the week", and, according to an Indonesian Ministry of Transport statement, "The Indonesian authorities are suspending the company's flights on this route with immediate effect pending an investigation".[110] In response on the same day, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and the Changi Airport Group (CAG) made a clarification that AirAsia QZ8501 "has been given approval at Singapore's end to operate a daily flight for the Northern Winter Season from Oct 26, 2014 to Mar 28, 2015".[111]
On 6 January, according to BBC News, Indonesian Ministry of Transport representative Djoko Murjatmojo stated that "officials at the airport operator in Surabaya and [the] air traffic control agency who had allowed the flight to take off had been moved to other duties", and an immediate air transport directive had been issued "making it mandatory for pilots to go through a face-to-face briefing by an airline flight operations officer on weather conditions and other operational issues prior to every flight."[112]
See also[edit]
Garuda Indonesia Flight 421 — 16 January 2002. Simultaneous flameout of both engines in heavy rain and hail occurred while trying to weave between intense thunderstorm cells over Java. Led to better understanding of vulnerability of turbofan aircraft engines to dense hail, and a US NTSB Safety Recommendation.
Adam Air Flight 574 — 1 January 2007. One of several accidents involving Indonesian airlines, including the subsequent non-fatal crash of Adam Air Flight 172, which among them have resulted in large-scale transport safety reforms in Indonesia, as well as the United States downgrading its safety rating of Indonesian aviation, and of the entire Indonesian fleet being added to the list of air carriers banned in the EU. (Indonesia AirAsia was removed from that list in July 2010.)
Notes[edit]
Jump up ^ Also reported as occuring at 05:36 or 05:32 WIB.[23][24]
Jump up ^ The aircraft was an Airbus A320-200 model; the 16 specifies it was fitted with CFM International CFM56-5B6 engines.
Jump up ^ 149 passengers and 6 crew members, including Captain Iriyanto
Jump up ^ 1 crew member, first officer Rémi Emmanuel Plesel
Jump up ^ Dual British-Hong Kong citizen boarding with British passport.
Jump up ^ He was only known by one name, a common practice in Indonesia.
