The AirAsia flight QZ8501 that crashed in the Java Sea, killing 162 people, climbed too fast before stalling, Indonesia’s Transport Minister, Ignasius Jonan, told BBC.
Ignasius Jonan told a parliamentary hearing in Jakarta that AirAsia’s flight QZ8501 had ascended at a speed of 6,000ft (1,828m) per minute. According to Ignasius Jonan it is rare for even a jet fighter to climb 6,000 ft per minute. He further said that the average speed of a commercial aircraft is probably between 1,000 and 2,000 ft per minute because commercial aircraft is not designed to soar so fast.
No passenger or fighter jet would attempt to climb so fast, said the Minister.
A source familiar with the investigation’s initial findings told Reuters news agency last month that radar data appeared to show flight QZ8501 had made an “unbelievably” steep climb before it crashed, possibly pushing the jet beyond its limits.
When planes stall, their engines do not cut out but the wings no longer generate lift because there is not enough air passing over them, BBC transport correspondent Richard Westcott says.
For the full BBC news report please read, HERE.
It would appear from the above statements from the Indonesian Minister of Transport that the competent of the pilot of AirAsia’s flight QZ8501 is now in question.
The Indonesian Transport Minister had said that AirAsia fligth QZ8501 was unauthorised because AirAsia was only allowed to fly four time a week and Tony Fernandez had admitted to him about this, HERE.
However, within the same day the extremely powerful Tony Fernandez, the CEO of AirAsia, had immediately rebutted the Indonesian Minister of Transport and said the AirAsia’s flight Qz8501 was authorised and that AirAsia had been flying the Surabaya – Singapore route 7 times a week, HERE.
A few days later (on 13-1-2015) AirAsia did a U-turn when its director Sunu Widyatnoko had admitted before the Commission V of the Indonesia House of Representatives that there was an “ADMINISTRATIVE NEGLIGENCE” on the part of AirAsia because AirAsia only made a “verbal application” to the Ministry of Transport for the change of schedule. Please read HERE.
Of course, there was no confirmation from the Indonesian Ministry of Transport for the so-called verbal application In any event, this was a big joke in the aviation industry where an airline made an application on official matter such change of schedule verbally! May be AirAsia X could not get the necessary approval for its Melbourne – Bali route because it was made verbally too.
Our DCA please do not be too surprised if one fine day AirAsia were to say that it got verbal approval to fly certain route when there was no such prior approval in writing.
Since after the above admission of “Administrative negligence” by the AirAsia’s director, Tony Fernandez silence on the issue of unauthorised flight QZ8501 is most deafening! Further, Tony Fernandez had stop tweeting on the subject matter and disappear from Surabaya where he had said that he will be in Surabaya with the families of the victims.
We will soon know exactly what had happened to the ill-fated AirAsia’s flight QZ 8501 where 162 innocent lives have been killed, when the transcript of the data from its black box is made known on 28-1-2015.
