Speculation abounds as hope slowly fades away
30 Dec 2014 12:05 AM GMT
The objects have been found 160 km southwest of Pangkalan Bun, near central Kalimantan, or 1,120 km from the location where the plane lost contact. Putranto said he could not be sure whether the objects were part of the AirAsia flight QZ8501 that went missing early Sunday while on its way to Singapore from the Indonesian city of Surabaya with 162 passengers and crew on board.
An Indonesian helicopter on Monday also saw two oily spots in the Java Sea. Still, Putranto said, “We are now moving in that direction, which is in cloudy conditions.” There are also “preliminary suspicion” that the Airbus is at the bottom of the sea.
National Search and Rescue Agency chief Bambang Soelistyo told journalists, “Based on the coordinates given to us and evaluation that the estimated crash position is in the sea, the hypothesis is the plane is at the bottom of the sea.”
“That’s the preliminary suspicion and it can develop based on the evaluation of the result of our search,” he said. If the plane is found on the ocean floor, there would be a challenge in getting the plane to the surface because they do not have the “submersible” equipment, Soelistyo said. The last communication from the pilot to radar control was a request to increase altitude from 32,000 feet to 38,000 feet because of rough weather.
The request was not immediately granted as there was reportedly another plane in airspace at 34,000 feet, said Bambang Tjahjono, director of the state-owned company in charge of
air-traffic control.
Providence saved these lucky ones
For relatives who lost near and dear ones on Sunday's ill-fated Air Asia flight it was the ultimate nightmare. The ones who the missed flight called it divine intervention. Former beauty queen Anggi Mahesti said she was part of a group of 10 who missed the plane yesterday because they weren’t aware of a change in the departure time. A passenger manifest showed 26 people who bought tickets didn’t board Flight 8501 which took off from the central Indonesian city of Surabaya. “It was already the final call when my husband reached the airport in the first car with our bags,” Mahesti said by phone today from Surabaya. “Most of the family were in another car that arrived 15 minutes later. The plane left without us.” Ten-year-old Christopher Incha Prasetya wailed when his parents cancelled a four-day trip to Singapore because his grandfather was ill. A day later, he had to be convinced the plane that would have flown them there was missing.
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