Search area shifts slightly for crashed AirAsia plane

Pangkalan Bun - The search operation for
AirAsia Flight QZ8501 will spread slightly
eastward on Tuesday as the weather and
currents drag wreckage in that direction, the
head of Indonesia's rescue agency said.
Bad weather has made it difficult to locate
parts of the plane and recover the 125 bodies
that are still missing, said National Search and
Rescue Agency's director of operation Suryadi
B Supriyadi.
There were 162 passengers and crew on the
Airbus 320 when it crashed on 28 December.
So far, 37 bodies have been recovered.
"Time is of the essence ... but it seems like it
is hard to beat the weather," Supriyadi said,
adding that divers trying to reach the
wreckage Monday were forced to return to
their ships by strong current as rough seas
continued to impede dive and search teams.
The debris found so far indicates the body of
the plane broke into parts, he said.
Harsh measures
On Monday, Indonesia's transportation
ministry announced harsh measures against
everyone who allowed AirAsia Flight 8501 to
take off without proper permits — including
the suspension of the airport's operator and
officials in the control tower.
Routing permits for all airlines flying in the
country will be examined to see if they violate
the rules, said Djoko Murjatmodjo, acting
director general of air transportation.
"Who knows if other airlines are also doing the
same thing," he said.
The plane was travelling between Surabaya,
Indonesia's second-largest city, and Singapore
on a Sunday. Officials have since said its
permit for the popular route was only for
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, and
that AirAsia quietly switched three of those
days. Officials in Singapore, however, have
said the plane was authorised to fly on
Sundays from its end.
Applications for specific routes take into
account issues including air traffic rights and
airport takeoff and landing slots.
Violation of regulations
While the airline is being investigated,
Indonesia has banned all AirAsia flights
between Surabaya and Singapore.
AirAsia Indonesia President Director Sunu
Widyatmoko said by text on Monday that the
airline will co-operate with the government
during the evaluation, but would not comment
on the permit allegations until the process is
complete.
Violations of the regulations would boost legal
arguments for passengers' family members
seeking compensation, said Alvin Lie, a former
lawmaker and aviation analyst. But he added
AirAsia would not be the only one to blame.
"The Surabaya-Singapore flights have been
operating since October ... and the
government didn't know," he said. "Where was
the government's supervision?"
Murjatmodjo said individuals who allowed to
plane to fly without permits would be
suspended while the investigation is pending.
The ministry issued a directive on 31
December ordering all airlines to provide
pilots with up-to-date weather reports before
they take off, he said. Currently, it's up to the
captain and co-pilot to research and evaluate
flying conditions before departing. In other
countries, carriers' flight operations
departments perform that task for them.
Safety and professionalism
After Indonesia deregulated its aviation
industry in the 1990s, dozens of airlines
emerged making air travel affordable for the
first time for many in the world's fourth most
populous nation.
But accidents in recent years have raised
questions about the safety of Indonesia's
booming airline sector, with experts saying
poor maintenance, rule-bending, and a
shortage of trained professionals are to blame.
AirAsia, which began operations in 2001 and
quickly became one of the region's leaders in
low-cost air travel, has not experienced any
other crashes and is widely considered a
benchmark for safety and professionalism.
It is not known what caused Flight 8501 to
crash into the Java Sea 42 minutes into what
was supposed to be a two-hour flight, though
Indonesia's Meteorology, Climatology and
Geophysics Agency says bad weather appears
to have been a factor.
Just before losing contact, the pilot told air
traffic control that he was approaching
threatening clouds, but was denied permission
to climb to a higher altitude because of heavy
air traffic. No distress signal was issued.
Sonar has identified five large objects that are
believed to be chunks of the fuselage on the
ocean floor, but strong currents, silt and mud
have kept divers from seeing or reaching the
objects.
No signals have been heard from the cockpit
voice and flight data recorders, or black boxes.
Poor weather has prevented ships from
dragging ping locators.