Air Asia A320 missing
 

Still developing/breaking news. 155-164 onboard, conflicting reports. From Surabaya to Singapore...



Air Asia flight missing - reports - BBC News

Wonder if that top notch Asian CRM will turn out to be a factor.

Gotta find it first.

I'm sure CNN will make sure that does not happen.

Hopefully everything turns out okay. So many sketchy details right now to even gather what the situation is.

They'll find it. The same crack team of Indonesian investigators are on the case.

If they don't, there will be a big push for continuous sat/ground position telemetry over non-radar or remote areas.

You have GOT to be $#@&^% kidding me!!! Finally, a shred of hope for pilots in the post 911 airline industry (profits, retirements, not having to buy a job anymore, etc.) and these damned Asian airlines are screwing it up for all of us!!! ICAO, if they can't get it done safely, competent western airlines will be happy to take up the slack by covering those routes!!!

Air Asia A320 missing
 

My thoughts are with the families, and I hope it turns out to be a non-event.

AirAsia Crash
 

AirAsia 8501 Goes Missing Over Pacific After Pilots Request Course Change - ABC News

Bet they even had "500 on type".

They don't let us fly their fancy new fangled airplanes unless we have 500 on type, but if they crash the sim on their checkride, no sweat.

Maybe a miracle for some good news from this time.
Weather radar looked pretty horrific this morning.

Air Asia A320 missing
 

No Caution Terrain, this will be plastered all over the major networks and cable news for months! Just enough to BS people out of the truth that flying in an airliner is statistically the safest thing they'll ever do.

Capt had 6,100tt and the FO had 2,215. So let's not start that.
They requested a deviation for severe turbulence, then contact was lost. Looks like they got into a cell or an area of cells and could have stalled.
Not good.

Indonesia is one of the worst places to fly in the world. Weather is always horrible, and ATC is worse.
Capt had 6,100tt and the FO had 2,215 and I would guess most of their time would be in the A320.
Yes CRM and safety are a big problem in that region, but they haven't even found the plane yet so I would say let's keep it civil.

A bit premature to title this thread as a "crash" when they haven't found a crash-site or any wreckage.

13 hours later.. we can agree they're not circling around.

Weather looked horrendous, some pretty large cells throughout the entire flat path

The media is saying they requested a climb from 320 up to 380.

We don't (yet) know how heavy they were, how much fuel they had, etc, but can any of you guys with lots of A320 time tell us how much stall margin you typically have, half way through a 3hr. flight, at FL380?

Will the A320 go right up there immediately after takeoff, with 168 pax and 3+hrs. fuel on board? I doubt it, since they were at 320 in the first place, but I'd like to hear more about that from some A320 pilots.

I go through close to there at 380 all the time. I hate it. The thing that gets you the most are the buildups that aren't raining yet. Middle of the night plugging along and you just get the snot kicked out of you from something you can't see or paint.

I've had guys want to go higher(insane) which puts you a lot closer to upset if you run into the top of one of those buildups. I'd rather stay lower and try to weave with a greater margin.

Looking at a radar shot, it looked like there were some massive buildups.

Sounds like something catastrophic, maybe they hit softball sized hail, or extreme turbulence.

I'm also wondering what their gross weight/max alt was at the time. 38 seems awful high for a flight that was planned to be at 320 at that time. Is the Bus still having issues with pitot icing/airspeed unreliable/etc? Might be a factor as well considering the amount of moisture in the area at the time.

Which is why I fly with the lights turned down. Even on a moonless night you'll be able to avoid the big stuff once your eyes adjust.

Another good technique is to move the seat all the way up and forward. Place your head on the dash and wrap your arms around your head. (Blocking all the light from the cockpit). Have your buddy fly. After a couple of minutes. You can see most of the weather in the darkness.

Not that I'm aware of.

Correct me if I am wrong. Unlike Boeing aircraft Airbus planes are continuously sending aircraft data back to MX, including approximate location. Unless there was deliberate sabotage, then this thing should be found.

While true for many foreign carriers, it is not true for Air Asia. They were hiring DECs for the A320 without time on type. One of the few airlines out there that would. Copa is another example.

Air Asia A320 missing
 

I agree flying that high when your heavy is close to stall margin on both ends .... And sure we have all been bumped around at the tops of something unexpected which appeared to come out of no where .. Doing the island stuff from NY I have come across monsters we just couldn't see ...

Hope we find something out from this, even if it's catastrophic we can hopefully learn from it...

It's not an A v. B thing, it's what maintenance package you're on. Which comes down to how much the airline wants to spend.

They both have the capabilities, it just depends on what options the airline has.

MH370 hasn't been ruled deliberate sabotage and it still hasn't been found :rolleyes:

Oh, you're one of "those" people.

Why yes. Yes I am. :)

Monsoon weather , climbing through 36300 feet with GS 353 ... stall, coffin corner, AF477 ...

If I did that I wouldn't have to worry about missing them. I'd just wake up when we got to the bumps.

As far as putting your face up next to the window, it might get a little old on a 9 hour flight. Flying through the ITCZ is what it is.

Which is why all I'm going to do is point and laugh at you. Given the choice between flying through potential hail or certain severe turbulence with the possibility of extreme in the mix and not flying through it I do what works to keep me out of it. Light to moderate is not that much of a concern. Considering about 99% of my flying is in the ITCZ I might know a thing or two about it.

I'm sure all of us have been there and done that at some point, it's not really that much of an issue when you've got a few people up front looking around.

Agreed, but without a crash-site/wreckage, there is no crash, just a missing airplane.

Obviously the Bermuda Triangle has moved. :D

My best experience was doing a interview for Tianjin with a Checkairman that had 1/3rd of the time in the EMb190 that I did. He gave me the typical V1 cut, loss off hydraulic 2, no AP/FD, RNav to Mins with 50 kt crosswind transitioning to 30 kts at Mins while also giving me pitch trim runaway at the marker after gear went down. I was told through the translator, " Captain, you are not Tianjin Captain material" after I went around at 800 ft.

By now it either landed on land, or it crashed into the water/land. Just because we can't find it doesn't mean it didn't crash. That's just a media talking point. "Airplane vanished!" Well, no it didn't vanish. The aircraft particles still exist and they just have to be located. Lack of location does not mean it didn't crash. MH370 and QZ8501 crashed. It's just a matter of finding where exactly.

Dude are you like 12 or something? I only do that trick when I'm approaching weather at night in VMC. Just to supplement and validate what's on the radar. Geez!!! Oh and by the way. I have flown all the oceans of the world too. But I don't have to brag about it. You must be a gem to work with.

Prime example of why I rarely ever post.

As a current A320 operator. I hope this one gets solved.
God speed.