Shocking! Crashed AirAsia pilots did not get weather report

Jakarta, Jan 5: In a shocking revelation, documents imply that the pilots of the doomed AirASia plane did not receive their customary weather report before leaving.

The Jakarta Post has reported that the leaked documents have given rise to allegations that AirAsia did not follow the airport procedures that led to the crash of the flight QZ8501 carrying 162 people in the Java Sea.

According to the leaked documents of Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) to Transportation Minister Ignatius Jonan on Wednesday, the pilots of the flight did not receive the required weather report from the agency.

BMKG head Andi E Sakya said,"AirAsia took the (BMKG) weather report at 7 AM." However, it was much after the plane had left Surabaya's Juanda International Airport at 5:35 AM local time.

Incidentally, an AirAsia operations officer received the report only after the plane lost contact at 6:17 am.

"According to standard procedures, every time pilots chart flight plans, they must consider (BMKG) weather reports. So how could the plane fly without a weather report from the agency?" Ruth Hanna Simatupang said. However, she also rued that it could be the early morning flight that led to the situation.

AirAsia Indonesia, a sister airline of AirAsia denied all allegations and said,"AirAsia Indonesia really considers and is very careful in evaluating weather reports from the BMKG before every flight."

Sunu Widyatmoko, the president director of AirAsia Indonesia, said that the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport sent reports via e-mail four times a day to the AirAsia Indonesia operations center.

The route map of the Surabaya-Singapore route show that the weather was very cloudly on that day.

OneIndia News