AirAsia flight QZ8501: Co-pilot was likely at helm before crash, says report

By: 10 years ago

Sources told WSJ that investigators believe First Officer Rémi-Emmanuel Plesel, a French national, was flying the aircraft as it manoeuvred to avoid a storm on Dec 28 en route to Singapore from Surabaya, Indonesia. AFP/COURTESY OF THE PLESEL FAMILY

JAKARTA, Indonesia—The copilot of AirAsia flight QZ8501 was at the helm of the aircraft on Dec. 28 when it crashed, the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) preliminary report revealed on Thursday.

The KNKT’s preliminary report states that French national Remi Emmanuel Plesel, who was second-in-command on the plane, was flying the aircraft when it went down in the Java Sea off Pangkalan Bun killing all 162 people on board.

“The captain was monitoring [the co-pilot’s flight],” head investigator Mardjono Siswosuwarno said on Thursday, as quoted by tempo.co, referring to the captain of the flight, Iryanto.

Mardjono added that the flight crew all possessed valid licenses and medical certificates affirming their health, and that the plane was airworthy and operating on a balanced weight limit.

Prior to the crash, radar in Jakarta detected that the plane was flying at 24,000 feet.

KNKT head Tatang Kurniadi said that it may take up to one year to fully determine the cause of the crash and that the plane’s black boxes were still being analyzed.