A faulty part and the actions of the crew together caused AirAsia flight QZ8501 to crash into the Java Sea last year killing all 162 on board, according to Indonesian air crash investigators.
In a recent statement, the National Transport Safety Committee concluded that the Airbus A320’s flight control computer had a cracked component that failed four times during the flight (and 23 times in the previous year). The component’s malfunction caused repeated warning signals to be sent to the pilots.
But it was what happened next that caused the passenger jet en route from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore to plummet into the sea on 28 December 2014.
In a bid to turn off the repeated warnings and reset the faulty system, the pilots decided to pull circuit-breakers out of one of the aircraft’s computers. But in doing so, they also turned off the plane’s autopilot, launching the jet into a deadly spiral that was beyond the capability of the flight crew to recover from.
The AirAsia crash triggered a huge international search despite bad weather and strong currents, with search and rescue teams from all over the world – including Australia – involved in the recovery. Unfortunately, the bodies of 56 victims were never found.
What do you think of the National Transport Safety Committee’s report on AirAsia flight QZ8501? Let us know in the comments below.
