AirAsia Indonesia QZ8501 FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
Note: The FAQ has been generated from some of the most common questions asked by members in this long thread.
The use of various time zones has caused confusion in media and timing of events. Viewers and members are global, so we are using UTC / GMT / Zulu time. Local time is WIB (Waktu Indonesia Barat / Western Indonesia Time, UTC/GMT +7 hours; some reports also use Singapore time. A closer up map of the areas's time zones can be seen below:
Q. What happened to AirAsia Flight QZ8501? What is the timeline for its disappearance?
Originally Posted by Flight Safety Foundation, Aviation Safety Network
An Indonesia AirAsia Airbus A320-216, performing flight QZ8501, went missing over the Java Sea between Surabaya and Singapore. On board (were) 155 passengers and seven crew members.
The flight took off from runway 10 at Surabaya-Juanda Airport (SUB) at 05:35 hours local time 28 Dec 2014 (22:35 27 Dec 2014 UTC). The airplane turned left, tracking 329° over the Java Sea. The planned cruising altitude of FL320 was reached at 05:54. At the same time the airplane turned left to 319°. Ten minutes later the airplane slightly changed course to 310°. Upon entering the Jakarta Flight Information Region (FIR) over the TAVIP waypoint (about 120 nm se of Pulau Belitung in the Java Sea) at 06:12 the flight contacted Jakarta ACC. The flight stated that they were deviating to the left of their planned route along airway M-635 to avoid clouds (the area ids subject to intense storms and is sometimes known as "the Thunderstorm Factory") and requested a climb to FL380. The requested climb was not possible due to other traffic but the flight was cleared to climb to FL340.
According to the Indonesian Ministry of Transport the airplane was still on radar at 06:16 hours (Surabaya time, 23:16 UTC). At 06:17 only the ADS-B signal was visible with the target disappearing at 06:18.
Last recorded radar position was S3.3708 E109.6911. Debris and bodies of the aircraft have been located on Dec 30th 2014 in the Java Sea about 110nm from Pulau Belitung, about 10km/5nm from the last radar position. First bodies have been recovered by helicopters. Additional debris has been located 150nm eastsoutheast of Pulau Belitung/100nm southwest of Pangkalan Bun, a shadow on the sea floor of what appears to be the aircraft has been located about 86nm southwest of Pangkalan Bun and 150nm eastsoutheast of Pulau Belitung.
Originally Posted by BBC
: "Indonesia's weather agency says the storm clouds at the time rose to a height of 44,000 ft (13,000m), higher than commercial airliners in the region regularly fly....
The plane was in an area near the equator known for thunderstorms, where trade winds from the northern and southern hemispheres intersect. Air France Flight 447, which crashed in the mid-Atlantic in June 2009 killing 228 people, was flying through similar conditions.
Source: BBC; all times UTC / GMT
Q. How many crew and passengers was QZ8501 carrying? Who were they?
Flight was carrying 155 passengers, 7 crew.
The crew:
6 Indonesian (Captain, 4 Flight Attendants, 1 Engineer / Mechanic)
1 French (First Officer)
from 14 different nationalities:
- 149 Indonesian people
- 3 Malaysian people
- 1 Singaporean person
- 1 British person
- 1 Malaysian person
including:
- 137 adults
- 17 children
- 1 infant
10 people missed their scheduled flight
Q. Who were the pilots of QZ8501? How qualified were they?
Flying as Captain: Captain Iriyanto (an Indonesian national - it's common for many Indonesians to use a single name) had logged over 20,500 flight hours (that's a lot of time) about 6,100 of those with AirAsia. Previously he had flown F-16 fighters for the Indonesian Air Force.
Flying as First Officer: Remi Emmanuel Plesel (French national from Marigot, Martinique) had over 2,275 flight hours logged.
Q. What about the Airbus A320 family of aircraft; is it safe? What about this particular A320-216?
The Airbus A320 series aircraft are operated by a Captain and First Officer.
The A320 and AirAsia Indonesia are considered to have good safety records. AirAsia Indonesia has not experienced any aircraft losses until now.
In its history, the A320 has experienced 27 losses of of 3,819 A320 aircraft built. The AirAsia Indonesia Airbus A320-216, PK-AXC, Y180 configuration (MSN 3648, first flight 25 Sep 2008) was fitted with two CFMI CFM56-5B6/3 engines. Airframe time was ~23,000 hours total time, and had completed 13,600 cycles (flights from takeoff to landing). The aircraft had undergone its last scheduled maintenance on 16 November 2014.
What is next?
Search and recovery of bodies is a priority (some 40 bodies have already been recovered), and recovery of the "black box" (Cockpit Voice Recorder and Flight Data Recorder) is also high priority so the data can be analyzed and causative factors can be determined. At this time, 21 divers are involved in "black box" recovery, and a towed pinger locator is being deployed to find the "black box" if it has become detached from the aircraft.
Q. What is the "black box", how long does it remain on and is it separately powered?
A. The "black box" consists of two bright orange (for easier finding) "boxes": the CVR (Cockpit Voice Recorder), which records the last two hours of cockpit sounds; the FDR (Flight Data Recorder) records certain flight data for a period of 25 hours (minima). The entire device is powered by a separate battery and it remains powered for nearly a month. It is generally located in the tail area of the aircraft for protection and can not be turned off with normal means.
The "black box" must be able to survive 3,400 Gs (3,400 times the force of gravity), acceleration, and survive temperatures of 2,000 F / 1,093 C for one hour and pressures to 20,000 ft / 6,096 m of saltwater (there are a few locations deeper than that). The beacon signal is emitted once per second; the signals may become weaker if it falls into topographical features like underwater canyons.
The QZ8501 "black box" is presumed to lie in up to ~35 / ~115 feet at this time, if it is still attached to the aircraft. At this depth, it is diver recoverable.
If the "black box" separated from the aircraft, underwater locaters will be used to trace the beacon signal "pings" emanated automatically by the recorder assembly.
Q. What is "radar" and how does it work?
A. "RADAR is short for Radio Detection and Ranging. Three kinds of "radar" come into play here.
Aircraft have weather radar capable of detecting storm cells, etc. by sending out directed radio signals that are reflected back to a receiver that interprets the data to display range, density and breadth. Pilots use the information in determining routing and routing changes.
Primary radar is basically a transmitted electronic burst that is reflected by dense objects. The reflection is translated into a "blip" that is displayed on a screen that shows direction distance and in most instances altitude. The radar sets in this instance have a range of approximately 120 mi / 193 km (depending on weather, size and shape of aircraft, etc.) Primary radar is "noncooperative" - the radar will show all aircraft, but has no identification feature to discern which individual aircraft is being "painted" if no further information is known.
Secondary radar is a "cooperative" system. A pulse is sent from a secondary antenna to the aircraft and gets the aircraft's transponder to reply with coded information, set by the pilots, that identify the specific aircraft to ground controllers.
Who was searching? Who was in charge?
The search is headed by the Indonesian Search and Rescue Agency (BASARNAS) and the Indonesian military. Approximately 30 vessels (three war vessels), 20 aircraft including several Lockheed P-3 Orion antisubmarine and patrol aircraft and Lockheed C-130 transports, took part; the US Navy was asked to send help and it dispatched the destroyer USS Sampson to the area. They searched an area pf approximately 34,000 km sq. Australia, Cina, France, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, USA have been involved.
Q. What is a "transponder"?
A transponder is basically a radio, originally called "Identification Friend or Foe " and "Selective Identification Feature" used by the military to receive a "code" that identified "friendly" aircraft - and by airlines / air traffic control to identify specific aircraft. The transponder can be set to "squawk" (broadcast) specific codes (or to respond to ground "interrogation" activating signals) to the ground or to airborne receivers. Pilots need to be able to change codes and even to turn off a transponder on the ground or during specific flight conditions.
Q. Some have posted the aircraft was possibly being "flown on autopilot"; is that significant?
Not much. Though an aircraft's Flight Management Systems (FMS), which include the Flight Management Computer, are generally programmed by flight personnel on the ground, well-qualified pilots can change the programming using the CDU (Control Display Unit) for various reasons, disconnect the system from aircraft control inputs and "hand-fly" for various reasons.
Link to more information on the FMS.
Note: This information has been sourced from public media and social media sites and verified, but does not claim to be comprehensive nor to guarantee ultimate accuracy.
OTHER RESOURCES
Resources listed are generally reliable and offer free access (you may be required to watch an advertisement).
LINKS
AirAsia company profile:
http://www.airasia.com/my/en/about-u...e-profile.page
AirAsia updates on QZ8501
http://qz8501.airasia.com/index.html
Aviation Herald:
http://avherald.com/h?article=47f6abc7
BBC:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-30620647
NOTE:
Facts stated here are to the best of our knowledge and reliant on the accuracy of outside sources. Opinions are those of the FAQ writers and do not reflect any official position of FlyerTalk or Internet Brands.