More Information On AirAsia
The ABC has the latest on AirAsia QZ8501: Plane climbed at ‘beyond normal’ speed then stalled, Indonesian transport minister says
“In the final minutes, the plane climbed at a speed which was beyond normal,” transport minister Ignasius Jonan told reporters, citing radar data.
“The plane suddenly went up at a speed above the normal limit that it was able to climb to. Then it stalled.”
Earlier at a parliamentary hearing, he said radar data showed the Airbus A320-200 appeared at one point to be climbing at a rate of 6,000 feet [1,800 metres] a minute before the crash.
“I think it is rare even for a fighter jet to be able to climb 6,000 feet per minute,” Mr Jonan said.
“For a commercial flight, climbing around 1,000 to 2,000 [feet] is maybe already considered extraordinary, because it is not meant to climb that fast.”
This is entirely consistent with encountering a supercell in bad weather – an extreme updraft and then an extreme downdraft. This condition will often damage an aircraft as it exceeds the design specifications of most airframes. These are the conditions faced by the Hurricane Hunter aircraft.
