![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d4/Indonesia_AirAsia_Flight_8501_flight_plan.svg/240px-Indonesia_AirAsia_Flight_8501_flight_plan.svg.png)
Flight 8501 was a scheduled flight from Surabaya, Java, Indonesia to Singapore on Sunday, 28 December 2014. It was scheduled to depart Juanda International Airport at 05:20 Western Indonesian Time (WIB, UTC+7) and arrive at Singapore Changi Airport at 08:30 Singapore Standard Time (SST, UTC+8).[1] Flight 8501 took off at 05:35 WIB and reached its cruising altitude at flight level (FL) 320 (32,000 feet (9,800 m)) fourteen minutes later and was on a 329-degree heading.[2][3](p14) After departure, Flight 8501 was in contact with the Jakarta Area Control Centre (callsign: "Jakarta Centre"),[4] which provides air traffic control (ATC) service over the western Java Sea, and flying along air route M635,[4] off the southwest coast of Borneo.[5]
The flight was normal until 06:00 when an electronic centralised aircraft monitor (ECAM) memo was displayed, along with a master caution light, to indicate a fault with the rudder limiter system. Captain Iriyanto read the actions for fixing this failure (which involved rebooting two of the aircraft's Flight Augmentation Computers (FAC)), saying, "FAC 1 off and on. FAC 2 off and on."[3] The same fault recurred at 06:09, and the captain fixed it in the same way.[3](pp14–15)
At 06:11 the pilots turned 15 degrees to the left to avoid the weather, and contacted Jakarta Air Traffic Control to request a climb to FL 380 (38,000 feet (12,000 m)) for the same reason. The controller could not give immediate permission for this due to other aircraft in the vicinity, and instructed them to wait.[3](p15)
While they were waiting for permission to climb, the rudder limiter problem occurred for a third time, and for the third time the captain reset the FAC computers. When the memo displayed for the fourth time, captain Iriyanto decided to reset to the FAC circuit breakers (CB). He had previously seen this action being performed by a ground engineer, and believed that it was okay to do so in flight.[2] But this action not only reset the FAC computers, it also disconnected the auto-pilot and auto throttle, and the flight control law changed from Normal to Alternate. It also caused the aircraft to roll to the left, and by the time first officer Plesel reacted to this it was banked at 54 degrees.[3](p16)
Plesel, possibly spatially disoriented due to the roll sensation, over-corrected twice: first by making a sharp right bank input and then a sharp left bank input. Plesel then made a nose-up input on his side-stick, causing the aircraft to enter a steep climb at a 24-degree nose-up pitch.[3](p118) In just 54 seconds,[page needed] the aircraft climbed from FL 320 to 38,500 feet (11,700 m), exceeding a climb rate of 10,000 feet per minute.[6] It then entered a stall, descending at a rate of up to 20,000 feet (6,100 m) per minute.[3](pp118-119) The aircraft also began a turn to the left, forming at least one complete circle before disappearing from radar at 06:18:44.[7][8][9][10][11] At 06:20:35 the flight data recorder stopped recording. The CVR stopped recording one second later, at 06:20:36.[3](p56) The aircraft crashed into the Java Sea and was destroyed. All 162 people on board were killed.[2][3]
Its last recorded position was over the Java Sea, Karimata Strait between the islands of Belitung and Kalimantan (3°22′15″S 109°41′28″E / 3.3708°S 109.6911°E). The aircraft crashed in the Java Sea, Karimata Strait between the islands of Belitung and Borneo (3°37′23″S 109°42′43″E / 3.623°S 109.712°E).[8][12] The cockpit voice recorder captured multiple warnings, including a stall warning, sounding in the cockpit during the final minutes of the flight.[13] No distress signal was sent from the aircraft.[14][15] Search and rescue (SAR) operations were activated by the Indonesia National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) from the Pangkal Pinang office.[16][17]
- ^ Sentana, I Made; Raghuvanshi, Gaurav (29 December 2014). "Search for Missing AirAsia Flight 8501 Resumes". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
- ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference
:1
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c d e f g h i Cite error: The named reference
:0
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Hradecky, Simon (28 December 2014). "Crash: Indonesia Asia A320 over Java Sea on Dec 28th 2014, aircraft lost height and impacted waters". avherald.com. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
- ^ "AirAsia Flight 8501:Preliminary meteorological analysis". Weather Graphics. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
- ^ KNKT PK-AXC Final Report, Page 58
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
MoT radar track
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Hradecky, Simon (30 December 2014). "Crash: Indonesia Asia A320 over Java Sea on Dec 28th 2014, aircraft went missing believed to have impacted waters". The Aviation Herald. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
- ^ Schabner, Dean; McGuire, Bill; Candea, Ben (28 December 2014). "Search and Rescue Operation Resume for Missing AirAsia Jet". ABC News. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
- ^ "AirAsia jet with 162 on board goes missing on way to Singapore". CNN International Edition. 28 December 2014. Archived from the original on 28 December 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
- ^ "AirAsia QZ8501: Indonesia plane search resumes". BBC. 29 December 2014.
- ^ "AirAsia flight from Indonesia to Singapore loses contact". The Sydney Morning Herald. 29 December 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
- ^ "AirAsia jet's alarms 'screaming' at crash". The Sydney Morning Herald. Agence France-Presse. 21 January 2015. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
- ^ Nusatya, Chris; Fabi, Randy (28 December 2014). "AirAsia flight carrying 162 people goes missing in Southeast Asia – officials". Reuters. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
- ^ "Live: AirAsia flight from Indonesia to Singapore loses contact with air traffic control". ABC News. AU: Australian Broadcasting Corp. 28 December 2014. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
- ^ "AirAsia flight QZ8501 from Indonesia to Singapore loses contact with air traffic control". The Australian Broadcasting Corp. 28 December 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
- ^ "QZ8501: Singapore activated coordination centre to assist in SAR". The New Straits Times Press (M) Berhad. 28 December 2014. Retrieved 30 December 2014.