AirAsia 8501 debris found in Indonesian waters
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Commander of 1st Indonesian Air Force Operational Command Rear Marshall Dwi Putranto, right, shows airplane parts and a suitcase found floating on the water near the site where AirAsia Flight 8501 disappeared, during a press conference at the airbase in Pangkalan Bun, Central Borneo, Indonesia on December 30. Bodies and debris seen floating in Indonesian waters Tuesday, painfully ended the mystery of AirAsia Flight 8501, which crashed into the Java Sea and was lost to searchers for more than two days. The writings on the suitcase reads "Recovered by KRI Bung Tomo." KRI Bung Tomo is the name of an Indonesian Navy ship. The numbers on the suitcase are the coordinates. (AP Photo)
PANGKALAN BUN, December 30 (AP): Family members of those aboard AirAsia Flight 8501 collapsed in agony Tuesday as images of debris and a bloated body flashed across Indonesian television screens, proof that the plane crashed into the sea two days earlier with 162 people on board.
The low-cost carrier vanished Sunday halfway through a two-hour flight between Surabaya, Indonesia and Singapore after encountering storm clouds, sparking an international hunt with dozens of planes, ships and helicopters.
On the third day of searching, the first signs of the jet were found in shallow, aqua waters only about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from the plane’s last known coordinates: A life jacket, an emergency exit door. Parts of the jetliner’s interior, including an oxygen tank, were brought to the nearest town, Pangkalan Bun. Another find included a bright blue plastic suitcase, completely unscratched.
First Adm. Sigit Setiayanta, Naval Aviation Center commander at Surabaya Air Force base, told reporters six corpses were spotted about 160 kilometers (100 miles) from Borneo island.
Rescue workers were lowered on ropes from a hovering helicopter to retrieve bodies. Efforts were hindered by 2-meter-high (6-foot) waves and strong winds, National Search and Rescue Director SB Supriyadi said, but several victims were later picked up by a navy ship.
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Supriyadi had been on the aircraft and saw what appeared to be more wreckage under the water, which was clear and a relatively shallow 20 to 30 meters (65 to 100 feet).
Television coverage of the discovery sent a spasm of pain through the room at the Surabaya airport where relatives were waiting for news, especially as it showed a half-naked man floating in the water, a shirt partially covering his head.
Many screamed and wailed uncontrollably, breaking down into tears while they squeezed each other. One middle-aged man collapsed and had to be carried out on a stretcher.
The crash caps an astonishingly tragic year for air travel in Southeast Asia, and Malaysia in particular. Malaysia-based AirAsia’s loss comes on top of the still-unsolved disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in March with 239 people aboard, and the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in July over Ukraine, which killed all 298 passengers and crew.
Nearly all the passengers and crew were Indonesians, who are frequent visitors to Singapore, particularly on holidays.
Haidar Fauzie, 60, said his youngest child and only daughter, Khairunnisa Haidar, was a stewardess who had worked with AirAsia for two years.
On learning about the crash, he struggled to console his grieving wife. They last saw their child six weeks ago, when she returned home on holiday.
“From the start, we already knew the risks associated with being a stewardess,” said Fauzie. “She is beautiful and smart. It has always been her dream to fly. We couldn’t have stopped her.”
Before flying to Surabaya to pay his respects to the families, AirAsia group CEO Tony Fernandes tweeted, “My heart is filled with sadness for all the families involved in QZ 8501. On behalf of AirAsia my condolences to all. Words cannot express how sorry I am.”
To grant traumatized family members privacy, windows in the airport waiting room were blacked out on Tuesday evening. On news that Indonesia’s President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo was on his way to offer condolences following a visit to the search site, the corridor also was barricaded.
Fernandes, the founder and the face of AirAsia, and a constant presence in Indonesia since the tragedy started unfolding, said he planned to travel to the recovery site on Wednesday.
“I have apologized profusely for what they are going through,” he said of his contact with relatives. “I am the leader of this company, and I have to take responsibility. That is why I’m here. I’m not running away from my obligations.”
Ifan Joko, 54, said that despite the tragic news he was still hoping for a miracle. His brother, Charlie Gunawan, along with his wife, their three children and two other family members, were traveling to Singapore to ring in the New Year.
“I know the plane has crashed, but I cannot believe my brother and his family are dead,” he said, wiping a tear. “... We still pray they are alive.”
It is not clear what brought the plane down.
The last communication indicated the pilots were worried about bad weather. They sought permission to climb above threatening clouds, but were denied due to heavy air traffic. Four minutes later, the jet disappeared from the radar without issuing a distress signal.
The plane’s cockpit voice and flight data recorders, or black boxes, have yet to be recovered. Scott Hamilton, managing director of aviation consultancy Leeham Co., said in a post on his website that autopsies may provide some of the earliest clues about what happened.
“If death was due to blunt force trauma, this could suggest passengers were alive upon impact with the water,” he wrote. “If death came from other circumstances, this could suggest an explosive decompression and in-flight break up occurred.”
Several countries rushed to Indonesia to help with search and recovery efforts. The United States said it was sending the USS Sampson destroyer, joining at least 30 ships, 15 aircraft and seven helicopters in the search for the jet, said Indonesia’s Search and Rescue Agency chief Henry Bambang Soelistyo.
A Chinese frigate also was on the way, while Singapore said it was sending two underwater beacon detectors to try to detect pings from the plane’s all-important cockpit voice and flight data recorders. Malaysia, Australia and Thailand also are involved in the search.
Rescuers thought floating bodies were survivors
Jakarta, (IANS): It was a case of hoping against hope as pilots searching for the AirAsia plane that went missing in the Java Sea two days back Tuesday mistook the bodies floating in the water as survivors who were waving for help.
Tri Wibowo, a Hercules C-130 pilot, said he and his crew had a glimmer of hope that the passengers of the plane could be alive, The Independent reported. “We thought that the passengers were still alive and waved at us for help” he told local news outlet kompas.com in an interview, which was cited by The Independent. “But when we approached closer (we saw) they were already dead,” the pilot said.
The plane was flying over the wreckage of the AirAsia flight QZ8501 at around 11 a.m. Rescuers Tuesday spotted the wreckage of the ill-fated plane as well as bodies floating in the seawaters. Wreckage was found in the Java Sea, roughly six miles from where the plane lost contact with air traffic control, including what Indonesian air force officials claim were items resembling a plane door and emergency slide.
The Airbus A320-200 aircraft with 155 passengers and seven crew members on board went missing soon after taking off from Surabaya in Indonesia’s East Java province early Sunday morning on its way to Singapore’s Changi airport. The aircraft was at 32,000 feet over the Java Sea in Indonesian territory when it lost contact with the air traffic control amid a raging thunderstorm in the area
