Accident Updates:
They have taken everyone off the ferry. Currently 10 people are confirmed dead, but the number of people missing is uncertain because they don’t have a firm number of the people on board at the time of the accident. They think it is about 40, but that isn’t certain.
The US is sending a guided missile destroyer to aid in the search for the AirAsia flight off Indonesia. The Indonesians asked for foreign assistance because of the better sonars on the naval vessels of larger nations. The seas are not as deep as those in the areas involved in the search for the Malaysian airliner earlier in the year, but they are beyond the capabilities of Indonesia.
The AirAsia pilot made a course change that should have taken the aircraft to shallower water along the coast to avoid thunderstorms in the area.
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They seem pretty sure they have found the wreckage of QZ8501.
Indonesia Official Says: “Victims” Found Near Area Where Plane Disappeared
The toll on that ferry disaster could have been much worse. The survivors were lucky.
They are reporting that the first major debris found was an exit slide which would indicate that they ditched successfully, but were sunk by the high seas. They should have exited through the over-wing doors as they should be above the waterline and they should have dumped their fuel to make the aircraft more bouyant but things get crazy when you are in a forced landing. The 320s seem to be pretty good airframes for ditching.
Roger, that, Kryten. The Adriatic is not something you want to swim in. We flew over it ‘commuting’ between Germany and Greece in RC-130s and it is cold water. My Dad flew over it in WWII between Foggia, Italy and Axis targets in B-24s. It isn’t as bad as the Bering Sea or the Arctic Ocean, but a survival suit would definitely help with the hypothermia. There is a lot of traffic, so there is a lot of help available, which kept the loss of life down.