AirAsia flight ‘climbed faster than fighter jet’
AirAsia flight QZ8501 appears to have stalled after attempting to climb too fast before crashing into the Java Sea, killing all 162 onboard, according to Indonesia’s transport minister.
Addressing a parliamentary hearing in Jakarta, Ignasius Jonan said the Airbus A320-200 appears to have climbed at a speed of 6,000 feet per minute.
He said that was beyond the capabilities of even a fighter jet.
It would appear the pilots were trying to climb out of a storm during the flights from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore on December 28.
Referring to radar data, Jonan told a House of Representatives: "The plane, during the last minutes, went up faster than normal speed… then it stalled.
"The average speed of a commercial aircraft is probably between 1,000 and 2,000ft per minute because the aircraft is not designed to soar so fast."
So far fewer than 50 bodies have been recovered from the sea but last week the plane’s fuselage, believed to hold the majority of the passengers, was located and search teams are working out how to lift it from the sea bed.
The flight’s voice and data recorders have also been recovered, although they have not been completely transcribed yet. A preliminary report into the crash is due to be released by the end of the month.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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