What AirAsia Plane's Black Boxes Revealed

Co-pilot was at the helm as stall warnings sounded on Flight 8501
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jan 29, 2015 7:30 AM CST
What AirAsia Plane's Black Boxes Revealed
Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) investigator Ertata Lananggalih holds a model plane as he explains the movement of AirAsia Flight 8501.   (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Two planes—one still missing and one found on the seafloor—and two updates:

  • AirAsia Flight 8501: The cockpit voice recording indicates that the co-pilot, French national Remi Emmanuel Plesel, was flying the plane while Indonesian Capt. Iriyanto was monitoring. An investigator dubbed that "normal practices." Iryanto, who like many Indonesians uses a single name, was a former fighter pilot with more than 20,500 flying hours, while Plesel had about 6,000 hours. The chief investigator said the black boxes showed the plane's steep ascent in its last moments, as it struggled to recover and stall warnings sounded until the end of the recording. "However, we are still examining many other things on the issues," he said.

  • Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370: Malaysia's government today declared the crash an accident to pave the way for compensation claims, angering victims' families still waiting for evidence even as officials said the search for wreckage will go on. "After 327 days and based on all available data as well as circumstances ... survivability in the defined area is highly unlikely. It is therefore with the heaviest heart and deepest sorrow that we officially declare Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 an accident," said civil aviation chief Azharuddin Abdul Rahman in a message broadcast on Malaysian television. He noted that the Convention on International Civil Aviation, commonly referred to as the "Chicago Convention," states that the definition of the term "accident" includes "the aircraft is missing." He said Malaysia Airlines is ready to proceed with the compensation process.
(More Malaysia Airlines stories.)

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