AirAsia Plane Might Have Had Ice Buildup

Icy buildup on AirAsia Flight 8501 could be the culprit that brought down the Airbus 320 plane last week, killing 155 passengers and seven crew members, a new report suggests.

The report, from an Indonesian meteorological agency, was based on the available data received from the plane at the point of last contact. The flight took off from Surabaya, Indonesia on Dec. 28 en route to Singapore. It disappeared from radar 42 minutes later over the Java Sea; parts of the wreckage and bodies were found about a day and a half later.

"Based on the available data received on the location of the aircraft's last contact, the weather was the triggering factor behind the accident," the report noted, referencing infrared satellite pictures showing peak cloud temperatures minus 121 degrees. "The most probable weather phenomenon was icing which can cause engine damage due to a cooling process. This is just one of the possibilities that occurred based on the analysis of existing meteorological data.”

Officials won’t know an exact cause until the search and recovery team locates the black boxes and its all-important data from the tail section of the plane. NBC News reported this morning that the team believes it has located the tail, but the search has been hampered by bad weather and rough seas.

Four more bodies were found over the weekend, bringing the total to 34.

In the meantime, Indonesia’s transportation ministry is cracking down on the aviation industry after reports surfaced that the flight did not have the proper permits to fly on the day it disappeared.

Indonesia said today it is banning all AirAsia flights between Surabaya and Singapore, and is suspending the operator and control tower workers at the airport in Surabaya. AirAsia had permission to fly from Surabaya to Singapore on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays – but not Sundays, the day when the flight took off and disappeared.

The transportation ministry also said it will examine all airlines flying into and out of Indonesia to ensure they have the proper documentation.

Source: Travel Pulse