AirAsia QZ8501: More bodies are found at sea

The Air Asia flight QZ8501 disappeared whilst en route from Surbaya, Indonesia to Singapore crashed into the Java Sea. Five days later the number of bodies rescued has reached 30. The operations by Indonesian rescuers continue but no survivors have been found.

The cause of the crash is not yet known.

However it has also emerged that AirAsia did not have permission to fly aircraft on this route on the day of the crash - Sunday - but was licensed during four other days of the week. Indonesian transport ministry has now suspended the route for Indonesian AirAsia. The suspension is effective from today, but the outcome will depend on the Governments investigation, reported Berita Satu Online earlier today. 

There were 155 passengers and 7 crew members on board flight QZ8501 when it crashed into the Java Sea in the early hours of 28 December, 2014.







After the search area was extended, 20 bodies were found bringing the total bodies rescued to 30. 
Some bodies were still strapped into their seats.
The fuselage of the aircraft has not yet been found; it is believed that the majority of the passengers will be in this area of the plane. 

Finding the Fuselage and the plane's "black boxes" are a priority



All the bodies taken from the plane are being returned to Surbaya in numbered coffins.

Mr Fernandes - the company's boss - tweeted earlier: "I cannot describe how i feel. There are no words." and "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."


Recent bad weather in the search area has meant that finding the plane visually have minimised dramatically. The search team are now having to use scans of the sea floor to find the debris of the plane.

Earlier today it was said that the bodies and debris are spread over 5km of the Java Sea. 
The search currently, covers an area 1,575 nautical square miles of the Java Sea near Borneo.

Some investigators of the crash believe that the plane may have gone into an aerodynamic stall after a steep climb to avoid a storm. The plane was travelling at 32,000 ft when it requested to climb to 38,000 ft to avoid the storm. After air traffic control allowed the plane to climb to 34,000 ft, they received no reply.

This was the last time anyone contacted flight QZ8501.

A source quoted by reuters said that radar data showed that the planes "unbelievably" steep climb may have been beyond the limits of the Airbus A320.

Previous to the 28 December 2014, AirAsia had an excellent safety record, with no fatal accidents involving its aircraft.