Retrieving wreckage from AirAsia Flight To Singapore- no survivors recovered

[Tulessa]

It takes a sickeningly long time to drop from 32k+ feet.
Unless whatever happened disabled all the systems, they should have been able to send an alert.
I am thinking whatever happened basically destroyed the plane immediately.
Which would mean they could not do anything to signal a problem.

I am completely in disbelief that this has happened again. It's unbelievable.

Phew! I'm not alone!! :grouphug:

 

[wfgodot]

Conspiracy theories formulating in 3....2....1....

 

[emirates1957]

No distress signal is weird.

Even if they had been hit by lightening, wouldn't they have had time to put out a mayday? ... or whatever emergency signal planes send when they are in dire trouble. :dunno:

Another silent plane in apparent distress ... scary.

Firstly they may make a PAN call - i.e. they loose power in one engine and need to land quickly. A MAYDAY is immediate danger to crew and passenger lives. Aircraft are commonly hit by lightening probably more often than people realise. You can be hit by lightening and not even be aware. Normally there will be an entry point maybe wing or nose and an exit point being the tail. In my time I have had a number of lightening/bird strikes, along with engine shutdowns. All of these are normally controlled events whereby crew have been trained and checked and their competencies evaluated in simulators.

 

[restarea]

Shouldn't they have found something by now? I understand the weather isn't great but its still daylight. Its been 8 hours.

 

[gitana1]

The plane is 6 years old so I guess it was weather related. But why did they fly? A delay would have made SENSE.

Probably money? A delay would men the plane likely couldn't travel its
next scheduled flight and that causes the plane to lose money.

Why didnt it affect the other planes too?

Crashes as a result of weather when a plane is at cruising altitude are astronomically rare. Exceedingly, impossibly, incredibly once in a gazillion. So, while other planes in the area were definitely affected by turbulence, The chance of any one other of them crahsing is virtually impossible.

 

[SouthAussie]

Firstly they may make a PAN call - i.e. they loose power in one engine and need to land quickly. A MAYDAY is immediate danger to crew and passenger lives. Aircraft are commonly hit by lightening probably more often than people realise. You can be hit by lightening and not even be aware. Normally there will be an entry point maybe wing or nose and an exit point being the tail. In my time I have had a number of lightening/bird strikes, along with engine shutdowns. All of these are normally controlled events whereby crew have been trained and checked and their competencies evaluated in simulators.

Thanks emirates! Helps to have someone with experience on board.

 

[Gypsy Road]

Can windshears happen that far up and bring down a plane?

 

[emirates1957]

Oh South Aussie, I am certainly no expert. I'm happy to fill in any little gaps I can. I wish there was a Pilot on board that could provide more significant information. And I thank you for your numerous posts on various cases, whereby I have learnt so much.

 

[SouthAussie]

3 minutes ago
An Indonesian woman at Singapore's Changi Airport said her sister and other family members, including two children, were on flight QZ8501.

"No one has told us anything. We heard the news and came to the airport," the woman said before entering a cordoned-off area.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-28/airasia-flight-loses-contact-with-air-traffic-control/5990424

 

[Tulessa]

Conspiracy theories formulating in 3....2....1....

Nah, I was just pondering out loud.

 

[Tulessa]

Oh South Aussie, I am certainly no expert. I'm happy to fill in any little gaps I can. I wish there was a Pilot on board that could provide more significant information. And I thank you for your numerous posts on various cases, whereby I have learnt so much.

What would we do, without our Aussie friends? :grouphug:

 

[Gypsy Road]

3 minutes ago
An Indonesian woman at Singapore's Changi Airport said her sister and other family members, including two children, were on flight QZ8501.

"No one has told us anything. We heard the news and came to the airport," the woman said before entering a cordoned-off area.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-28/airasia-flight-loses-contact-with-air-traffic-control/5990424

Just thinking outloud here ....while I do hate that family has to hear things through the news and not directly through the airline...how does the airline get the word out to family or know know who to contact this soon? Last time I bought a plane ticket I don't recall having to give next of kin or an in case of a emergency contact. How does this work. It's a legit question.

 

[SouthAussie]

a few seconds ago
Singaporean journalist Kirsten Han is at Changi Airport.

"The airport is mostly business as usual actually," she said.

"The families have all been taken to a private area so they are away from the public and away from the press so that they can wait for news in private.

"There have been a few family members going in and out and we also know that members of the Indonesian embassy have gone into the private area to be with them.

"This is coordinated by the airport so they're giving them whatever support while they wait for news."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-28/airasia-flight-loses-contact-with-air-traffic-control/5990424

 

[emirates1957]

Can windshears happen that far up and bring down a plane?

I am not a Pilot and can only comment what I have experienced. Normally an updraft or downdraft will happen at higher levels much like clear air turbulence. Wind shears I have found normally happen in a landing phase. Landing into a wind shear can be very dangerous. Normally a Pilot will receive an alert from the flight deck whereby they will conduct a go around and endeavour to make another landing. Depending on fuel they may consider another landing or fly to alternate port.

 

[SouthAussie]

Just thinking outloud here ....while I do hate that family has to hear things through the news and not directly through the airline...how does the airline get the word out to family or know know who to contact this soon? Last time I bought a plane ticket I don't recall having to give next of kin or an in case of a emergency contact. How does this work. It's a legit question.

Yes, I was thinking about that before. It would be relatively easy to get anyone waiting at the airport for the flight to come in, and get info from them or speak to them if they are family, but other than that it could be a very long process to track down family, couldn't it? If the passenger(s) had no-one waiting at the airport for them. Especially when they are flying internationally and are from different countries.

 

[emirates1957]

What would we do, without our Aussie friends? :grouphug:

What would we do without our Websleuth friends.

 

[SeriouslySearching]

The crew's request for an unusual route is curious since the weather "didn't seem to be anything unusual," William Waldock, an expert on air crash search and rescue with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona, told the Associated Press.

Severe weather is the reason pilots usually request a different route, but in this case the "winds were light, there were a few thin clouds, but that's about it," he said in an interview.

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/1...ing-with-162-on-board-indonesia-media-report/

 

[gitana1]

It takes a sickeningly long time to drop from 32k+ feet.
Unless whatever happened disabled all the systems, they should have been able to send an alert.
I am thinking whatever happened basically destroyed the plane immediately.
Which would mean they could not do anything to signal a problem.

I am completely in disbelief that this has happened again. It's unbelievable.

Two minutes. And during that time the flight crew would be frantically trying to prevent the plane from crashing. They would not be thinking about sending out a May day which could not help them in that situation anyhow. Your priorities would be on preventing a crash. Not asking for help from entities hundreds of miles away.

 

[Gypsy Road]

Just thinking outloud here ....while I do hate that family has to hear things through the news and not directly through the airline...how does the airline get the word out to family or know know who to contact this soon? Last time I bought a plane ticket I don't recall having to give next of kin or an in case of a emergency contact. How does this work. It's a legit question.

Thanks so much for your reply. I had heard of aviation problems due to windshears, but like you mentioned - the problems mostly centered around landing. I had never heard of problems with them happening higher up in the atmosphere.

 

[emirates1957]

Just thinking outloud here ....while I do hate that family has to hear things through the news and not directly through the airline...how does the airline get the word out to family or know know who to contact this soon? Last time I bought a plane ticket I don't recall having to give next of kin or an in case of a emergency contact. How does this work. It's a legit question.

They will pull up a passenger manifest for passengers and general declaration for operating crew. Once the names have been established immigration authorities will refer to passport details which will give a next to kin contact.