Co-pilot was at controls when AirAsia QZ8501 crashed
More details from the black box flight data recorder of AirAsia Flight QZ8501 have been revealed, stating that the co-pilot was in control of the plane throughout the flight.
Indonesian officials said the co-pilot, French national Remi Plesel, was in charge from take-off until the cockpit voice recording ends.
They said it was common practice for the co-pilot to take the controls while the Captain was monitoring.
According to BBC reports, officials believe they now have a ‘pretty clear picture’ of what happened before the aircraft crashed into the sea.
They believe it climbed abruptly from its cruising height and then stalled, before plummeting out of control.
The automated stall warning was sounding in the cockpit when the black box recordings ended just before impact.
Flight QZ8501, travelling from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore, was carrying 162 people.
So far, only 70 bodies have been recovered.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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