Flight recorders from Air Asia flight QZ8501 need to be consulted for answers
These include airspeed, altitude, and heading, as well as engine data, flight control positions, and more. The divers are also said to have recovered the cockpit voice recording, which records voice communications from the cockpit for the past two hours and other noises via the cockpit area microphone.
The recovery and discovery of these Black Boxes is the first significant breakthrough in the search efforts since flight QZ8501 went missing on December 28, 2014.
No answers to questions
There have been many rumors about what happened since the flight disappeared. The last communication between air traffic control and pilots is their request for them to climb in order to avoid bad weather, which air traffic control denied. The aircraft vanished shortly after.
Air Asia announced earlier this week that 48 bodies had been recovered so far from the Java Sea, of which 34 were identified. The Airbus A320-200 wreckage is still being recovered.
Investigators are eager to learn what flight data recorders and cockpit voice recordings will reveal. It was crucial to recover them.
The information gathered from the investigation has supported a variety of scenarios that could have resulted in the loss of the aircraft, its passengers, and its crew. Some theories seemed more plausible than others, but no conclusive evidence was available to support them.
Data analysis starts
The data should be downloaded and analyzed within a few days if the recorders have not been damaged.
Computer modeling programs that are sophisticated can be used to create computer-generated video images in real-time. The video will be able to show the entire flight in its final stages, including readings from all relevant flight instruments, as well as flight control movements. The investigators will have a clearer picture of the events.
The analysis of the wreckage recovered from the ocean floor can also shed light on the events. The location of the wreckage can indicate whether or not there was a breakup in flight, if any critical components were separated, or if the aircraft landed intact. The analysis of structural failures or other damage can also provide evidence as to what happened.
The investigation must then focus on finding out why the incident occurred. This may not be as easy to do as it seems.
Assume that the aircraft was in icing condition – as speculated, and the ice formation affected the air-pressure detection capability of pitot heads used to measure speed.
If this were to be the case, then the ice would have melted before the investigators had a chance to inspect the systems recovered. Investigators will need to examine the flight data carefully in order to find any deviations that could have been caused by icing. If no other malfunctions are found, or there is no contradictory evidence, icing could become a more prominent issue.
This is only one possible scenario based on the information available. The investigators’ forensic analysis of the evidence they have may reveal a completely different conclusion.
What are the questions about passenger safety?
Air Asia Flight QZ8501 crashed after a tough year for the passenger aviation industry.
The search for missing Malaysia Flight MH370 continues. The aircraft left Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on March 8, 2014. It was headed to Beijing. But the search is now focused in deep waters, off the coasts of Western Australia.
It is a mystery how the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, with 239 passengers on board and crew, went down.
On July 17, 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down. It had just left Amsterdam Airport with 283 passengers on board and 15 crew members, headed for Kuala Lumpur Airport, Malaysia. The wreckage of the Boeing 777 suggests that it was brought down by a rocket while flying over Ukraine.
The crash of a passenger airliner will only raise further concerns about safety. How unusual is this flight QZ8501 crash?
Flying is the safest way to travel.
As the Boeing Summary of Commercial Jet Airplane Accidents from 1959 to 2013, published in August 2014, demonstrates, the majority of airliner accidents occur during cruise phases of flight.
Only 10% of fatalities occurred during the main cruise periods for flights between 2004 and 2013. Boeing’s Statistical Summary Of Commercial Jet Airplane Incidents Worldwide Operations 1959-2013
The recent spate of mid-flight crashes is atypical compared to the last ten years when only one out of ten accidents occurred in mid-flight.
Boeing’s report shows that 57% (or the average flight time) is spent in the cruise phase, where only 10% of fatal crashes have occurred. This compares to 16% for take-off and climbing (22% accidents), 26% for descent and approach (33% accidents), and 1% for landings (25% accidents), which clearly is the most dangerous time.
In spite of these high-profile accidents, 2014 saw the lowest number of fatalities in the last ten years, even though the actual casualties were high.
The number of flights that airlines around the world fly each year has been steadily increasing over the same period.
Statistics show that airlines are the safest mode of transport in the world. This enviable record was achieved by learning from the accidents that do happen.