PO BAG 1: Flight 8501

1 December 2015

Rudder problem, pilot actions led to Indonesia AirAsia crash

In this Sunday, Jan.11, 2015 file photo, crew members of Crest Onyx recovery ship prepare to unload the newly-recovered tail section of crashed AirAsia Flight 8501 at Kumai port in Pangkalan Bun, Central Borneo, Indonesia. Indonesian investigators say a faulty rudder control system and the pilots' response led to the crash of the plane last year that killed all 162 people on board. The National Transportation Safety Committee announced Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015, that an analysis of Flight 8501's data recorder showed that the Airbus A320 had problems with its rudder control system while flying between the Indonesian city of Surabaya and Singapore on Dec. 28.

A rudder control system problem that had occurred nearly two dozen times in the previous 12 months coupled with the pilots' response led to last year's crash of an AirAsia plane in Indonesia that killed all 162 people on board, investigators said Tuesday.

In releasing their report, the country's National Transportation Safety Committee said an analysis of Flight 8501's data recorder showed the rudder control system had sent repeated warnings to the pilots during the Dec. 28 flight from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore.

10 January 2015

Crashed AirAsia's tail hoisted from sea in search for boxes

An Indonesian rescue helicopter flies as Indonesian navy divers conduct search operations for AirAsia Flight 8501 on the Java Sea, Indonesia, Friday, Jan. 9, 2015. Underwater ping-like sounds were heard Friday in an area where searchers are scouring the Java Sea for the crashed AirAsia plane, but it was unclear if they were coming from the all-important black boxes, an official said.

Investigators searching for the crashed AirAsia plane's black boxes lifted the tail portion of the jet out of the Java Sea on Saturday, two weeks after it went down, killing all 162 people on board.

It was not immediately clear whether the cockpit voice and flight data recorders were still inside the tail or had detached when the Airbus A320 plummeted into the sea Dec. 28. Their recovery is essential to finding out why it crashed.