Faulty part and ‘crew action’ caused AirAsia plane crash, report concludes

Indonesian investigators say a faulty part and subsequent “crew action” caused the AirAsia plane crash that killed 162 people. The Airbus A320 crashed into the Java Sea on 28 December, less than halfway into a two-hour flight from the Indonesia city of Surabaya to Singapore. The jet’s flight control computer had a cracked solder joint that malfunctioned four times during the flight and 23 times the previous year, according to investigators.

Subsequent flight crew action resulted in inability to control the aircraft … causing the aircraft to depart from the normal flight envelope and enter a prolonged stall condition that was beyond the capability of the flight crew to recover.

Indonesia’s national transport safety committee

Wreckage from the plane and its black box data recorder were recovered from the sea in January. Analysis at the time showed the jet had climbed abruptly from its cruising height before stalling - an automated voice that repeats the words “stall, stall” - had sounded in the cockpit.

Asia-Pacific AirAsia