AA4013

RIP . My condolescene to the victims and their families as well. One consolation is that they seem to have found the wreckage within 48 hours after the plane went down.

LoungeBum

New York times just post that bodies were found by the SAR team... RIP for the passengers of the flight. Very sad news!

dsquared37

Channel News Asia is reporting confirmation the lost plane has been found.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/...a/1557970.html

starflyergold

As there are some truly distressing images emerging from the scene please be reminded to refrain from posting these or linking to them in line with the moderator guidelines. starflyergold
QZ8501 moderator team

MAZ199

The raw footage of the bodies is heartbreaking

gilbertaue

It is. I hope they manage to find every single one who was on board.

WindowSeat123

According to Indonesian officials, debris in sea '95% likely' from AirAsia Flight QZ8501:

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/12/30/wo...html?hpt=hp_t1

gilbertaue

Chanel news Asia reporting that more than 40 bodies have been recovered.

WindowSeat123

Are the grieving relative and friends given any form of psychological counselling? I would imagine they would need it now more than ever, but the news don't seen to report on that much.

WhIteSidE

Actually, in their investigation into the AC 190 incident, the TSB concluded that

From the same report:

Pilots "overflying" the rudder is a valid discussion of the Airbus tailplane design. At design maneuvering speed (Va), the pilot should be to engage in full deflection of the flight controls without exceeding the design limit load of the airframe. On many Airbus aircraft repeated rudder input, even below the limits of the rudder, can put side loads on the tailplane beyond it's maneuvering limit. The impulse to apply rudder input during an unexpected roll is as natural and ingrained as flinging out a hand when you fall. As noted in the AC190 report:

As far as on board weather radar is concerned, it is primarily used as a situational awareness tool and not as a tool for flying blind. That is to say, you might well use it to ask for a deviation because the clouds ahead look scary, but it would not be SOP to attempt to actually "fly" through the apparent returns on the radar instead of looking outside.

AF 447 which crashed in part due to blocked pitot tubes was an A330, not an A320, although the concern about blocked pitot tubes is a valid one. After AF 447, however, the newer A330 pitot tubes became mandatory. I cannot find an actual AD related to this, but I'm sure Airbus considered pitot tube blockages on it's other aircraft very carefully.

There is no particular indication that A320s have a susceptibility to icing. Indeed the only A320 hull loss in which it was even a factor was G1 888, and in that case it was an AOA sensor that was frozen, but due to water sprayed in from a hose on the ground.

Even if the pilots of QZ8501 had encountered severe turbulence, there's always the 180 -- just turn around and head back from whence you came. Furthermore, if they had encountered persistent severe turbulence and not just some bumps, we would probably expect to see a slower airspeed. Although I don't have an A320 FCOM, from some notes I found online, it appears that Va would be about ~283 knots [edit: calibrated airspeed] for their altitude, while the last flightradar24 return has them at 469 knots [edit: true airspeed, equal to about 295 knots calibrated airspeed]. It seems likely that with turbulence severe enough to cause an inflight breakup, they would have pulled the speed way back.

As I said up-thread, there's no compelling anecdotal evidence to really speculate on at this point. Given that there was adverse weather, of course it will have been a factor in the planning an execution of the flight, but there's no indication that it caused an accident.

starflyergold

This is standard operating procedure for all major airlines. A crisis plan which includes counselling and support services, away from the public eye, is as far as I know in place. I also understand that AirAsia cooperates with the respective airports in providing professional support.

gilbertaue

I would assume they are. Nevertheless, it seems that the family members broke down when they saw the footage of the first body on TV - and that's where they got the confirmation from - not from the officials there.

Awesom Andy

That's just about the last thing any pilot would do. After hitting severe turbulances (and severe enough to the point where the aircraft may be endangered - which in itself is unlikely), you most definitely would not want to turn around and fly through the same patch of air again. And you most certainly would not pull the speed way back - you'll just fall out of the sky that way.

Also, it appears that debries are not spread over a large area. This would suggest that the aircraft did not break up inflight, but more likely to have been intact at the point of impact.

WindowSeat123

Thanks for the clarification. Glad to know such services are provided, since we are talking about non-Western countries, I cannot assume such service would automatically be available.

PetzLUX

From aviation herald:

On Dec 30th 2014 Indonesia's Search and Rescue Services reported, that they have located the wreckage of the fuselage at the floor of the Java Sea, about 97-100nm southwest of Pangkalan Bun. The aircraft is broken up into several large parts but well recognizeable.