AirAsia Pilots 'Disabled Vital Computer Control System' Before Plane Crashed into the Java Sea
- Pilots were responding to alerts from the flight augmentation computers
- They cut power to the system by pulling a circuit breaker in the ****pit
- Aircraft reportedly climbed more than 5,000 feet in less than 30 seconds
- Pilots are thought to have tried to gain control of the plane manually
- Second-in-command Remi Plesel was flying pane before it crashed into sea
- Captain Iriyanto, an experienced former military jet pilot, was 'monitoring'
- He's thought to have taken control from Plesel when plane began to ascend
- Co-pilot had 2,275 flying hours when Flight QZ8501 crashed in December
- Search for victims could end within days if no more bodies were found
Daily Mail UK, 30 January 2015
AirAsia flight 8501 crashed killing all 162 people on board after pilots disabled a critical computer system that keeps planes under control while trying to escape bad weather, it has been claimed.
The pilots cut power to the vital control system by pulling a circuit breaker in the ****pit while trying to respond to incessant alerts from the flight augmentation computers, two people with insight into the crash investigation said
The flight augmentation computers control the aircraft’s rudder and prevent it from flying too slow.
The Airbus A320 vanished from radar screens in bad weather on December 28 with initial reports suggesting it climbed so fast into a storm – into altitude where it was not permitted to fly - that it lost lift and then crashed into the Java Sea.
Ertata Lananggalih, an investigator with Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee, told reporters in Jakarata on Thursday that Flight 8501 climbed from a cruising altitude of 32,000 feet to 37,400 - more than 5,000 feet in less than 30 seconds.
Captain Iriyanto - an experienced former military jet pilot - is believed to have taken over control of the aircraft from First Officer Plesel when it started to ascend and then descend sharply, officials said
It has been claimed pilots disabled a critical computer system that keeps planes under control
Recovered AirAsia QZ8501 tail brought to Indonesian port
Experts are still unsure why after cutting the power to the computer system the pilots weren’t able to fly the plane safely manually.
However, John Cox, a former A320 pilot who is now a safety consultant, told Bloomberg that their abrupt climb into higher air space likely caused a ‘very pronounced stall’.
Cox advised that ‘particularly with an Airbus’ no computer control system should be switched off in case it affects another component.
The latest insight into what could have led to the AirAsia plane’s crash comes as it was revealed the co-pilot was actually at the controls of the doomed flight just before it plunged into the ocean.
Indonesia's lead investigator said the Airbus, which was less than halfway into a two-hour flight from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore when it disappeared, was being piloted by second-in-command Remi Plesel.
He was flying Flight QZ8501 prior to it crashing into the sea, not Captain Iriyanto - an experienced former military jet pilot - head National Transport Safety Committee (NTSC) investigator Mardjono Siswosuwarno announced on Thursday.
Information is being gather from the aircraft's black box after it was recovered from the Java Sea
Experts are still unsure why after cutting the power to the computer system the pilots weren’t able to fly the plane safely manually
Cpt Iriyanto, 53, is believed to have taken over control of the aircraft from First Officer Plesel when it started to ascend and then descend sharply, officials said.
Data from the black box flight data recorder has provided the accident probe with a 'pretty clear picture' of what happened in the last moments of the AirAsia flight, but officials offered few details.
'The second-in-command, popularly known as the co-pilot, who usually sits to the right of the ****pit. At the time, he was flying the plane,' the investigator said, referring to First Officer Plesel.
'The captain, sitting to the left, was the pilot monitoring.'
Throughout his career as an engineer for the energy company Total, the first officer had wanted to fly, so a few years ago he quit his job and learned how to.
He got a job with AirAsia, and at the time of the accident had earned 2,275 flying hours.
His sister Renee, who last spoke to him on December 26, previously told France's RTL radio: 'Aviation was his passion and he was able to make it real.
'He told me that things were going well, that he'd had a good Christmas. He was happy. The rains were starting, the weather was bad, it was raining a lot. He was going to work the next day.'
Indonesian officials examine the wreckage from AirAsia flight QZ8501 after it was lifted into the Crest Onyx ship in the Java Sea
A coffin containing the body of a crash victim is unloaded from a military plane in Surabaya
The cause of AirAsia's first fatal crash, which occurred about 40 minutes into the flight, is still not exactly known.
Investigators said the ****pit voice and flight data recorders showed that the plane had been cruising at a stable altitude before the crash.
The aircraft was in sound condition when it took off and all crew members were properly certified, they said.
'The plane was flying before the incident within the limits of its weight and balance envelope,' investigator Siswosuwarno said. 'While the flight crew had valid licences and medical certificates.'
Indonesian officials previously said the aircraft climbed abruptly from its cruising height and then stalled, or lost lift, before plunging out of control into the sea.
NTSC chief Tatang Kurniadi told the same Jakarta news conference that Indonesia had submitted its preliminary report on the crash to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) on Wednesday, as required under global aviation rules.
The report, which has not been made public, was purely factual and contained no analysis, he said, adding that the full, final report would take at least six to seven months to complete.
A total of 70 bodies have now been recovered after the plane crashed with 162 people on board
It was also announced that the search for dozens of victims still unaccounted for could end within days if no more bodies were found.
A multinational search and recovery operation has led to the discovery of 70 bodies in the Java Sea.
It was hoped more would be found following the discovery of the plane's fuselage, but days of rough weather and poor underwater visibility hampered navy divers' efforts.
Cpt Iriyanto was an experienced Air Force pilot who flew F-16 fighter jets before taking early retirement to become a commercial airline pilot.
He had more than 20,000 flying hours, of which 6,100 were with AirAisa on the Airbus 320.