AirAsia Flight QZ8501

Not the outcome everyone hoped for but maybe better to have some kind of closure for the families as opposed to the alternative. R.I.P.

AirAsia Flight QZ8501

Posted By:
2014-12-27 22:34:43

The gist of what I'm hearing is that the plane's last reported speed was only 100 knots or so. It may have stalled in the climb or it may have hit some serious wind (up, down, or whatever) that robbed it of air speed.

In any case it's an awful loss and I feel for the families.

If this is the case it could be similar to Air France which stalled and crashed in the Atlantic. Conflicting speed data and choosing the wrong data source to fly with.

This aircraft had automation that can deal with huge up and down drafts, so it may come down to pilot error.

So sad.

IMO, something catastrophic must have happened. The last reported contact was from 32k ft. That's enough room to recover a stall especially with all the anti-stall avionics the Airbus has.

And it is very sad. It's been a terrible year for airlines from Malayia. Far far too much heartbreak.

They were in the midst of a really rough thunderstorm and if they were caught in a severe downward wind shear then their 32k feet was effectively reduced by some as yet undetermined factor.

No idea if the weather people in that region use Doppler radar for looking at weather but if they do then it should be a matter of math to figure out the effective altitude of the plane.

They could only recover from a stall if they believed they were in a stall. This was the problem Air France had. False air speed readings told them they weren't in a stall but they were falling like a rock.

I guess it all just goes to prove there's no substitute for a skilled pilot when the world's best aviation technology reaches its limits.

He was skilled no doubt but night flying is a whole other ball game.