Investigators have found that a faulty rudder control system and the crew’s inadequate response led to the crash of AirAsia’s Airbus A320 into the Java Sea last year, killing all 162 people onboard.
Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee, which was investigating the crash, released the final report of the probe.
According to the report, the rudder system, which helps pilots control the aircraft rudder had problems 23 times in the last 12 months prior to the crash.
Investigators said under the aircraft maintenance records, there was crack in the soldering on an electronic card.
In its report, the committee said analysis of AirAsia Flight QZ8501’s recovered data recorder showed the faulty rudder system in the aircraft caused repeated warnings to sound in the cockpit of the aircraft.
In an attempt to fix the problem, the pilots disengaged autopilot in mid-air and pulled the circuit barkers to re-set the rudder control system, which eventually led to loss of control of the plane.
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By GlobalDataInvestigator of the probe Nurcahyo Utomo was quoted by AFP saying: "The investigation found some inadequacy in the maintenance system, leading to the unresolved, repeated problem.
"AirAsia must find the people who were responsible for this problem. It has been proven there was a weakness."
It was also discovered the flight was entering stormy weather after the pilots received their last communication from air traffic control. The pilots requested to climb high to avoid bad weather, but they were denied permission due of heavy air traffic.
AirAsia Flight 8501 had an accident near the Borneo island coast while it was heading from Surabaya city, Indonesia to Singapore on 28 December.
After four minutes, the plane disappeared from the radar, although investigators denied establishing any link between bad weather and the crash.
Following the crash, only 106 bodies were recovered from the sea.
Image: AirAsia Airbus A320-200 (PK-AXC) landing at Ngurah Rai International Airport, Tuban, Badung Regency, Bali, eight months before it crashed in the Java Sea. Photo: courtesy of Wikipedia.
