Flight 8501 News

Update: Investigators Say No Evidence AirAsia Captain Left His Seat

Indonesian air crash investigators said on Monday they had not so far found evidence that the pilot of an AirAsia jet had left his seat, or that power to an automated control system was shut off, shortly before the aircraft …

Pilots Disabled Critical Computers Just Before AirAsia Crash

The pilots of AirAsia Bhd. Flight 8501 cut power to a critical computer system that normally prevents planes from going out of control shortly before it plunged into the Java Sea, two people with knowledge of the investigation said. The …

AirAsia Search Hampered by Bad Weather; Black Box Locater Deployed

Search teams looking for the crashed AirAsia Bhd. jetliner’s black box will deploy side-scan sonar and pinger locaters as inclement weather off Indonesia’s coast hinders efforts to recover bodies and the plane’s fuselage. The international team has set 1,575 square …

Crowded Skies in Southeast Asia Put Stress on Pilots, Air Traffic Controllers

The sheer volume of flights in the skies over Southeast Asia is putting pressure on outdated air traffic control and on pilots to take risky unilateral action in crises such as that possibly faced by AirAsia Flight QZ8501. Pilots who …

Adverse Weather Hinders Efforts to Recover AirAsia Flight Data Recorders

Indonesian authorities began deploying divers to find debris from the crashed AirAsia Bhd. jetliner as a day of adverse weather hindered efforts to find the plane’s black boxes. Searchers recovered seven bodies so far, including that of a female flight …