The pilots of AirAsia Flight QZ8501 cut power to a critical computer system that normally prevents planes from going out of control shortly before it plunged into the Java Sea, two people with knowledge of the investigation said.
The action appears to have helped trigger the events of Dec. 28 last year, when the Airbus Group A320 climbed so abruptly that it lost lift and it began falling with warnings blaring in the cockpit, the people said. All 162 on board were killed.
The pilots had been attempting to deal with alerts about the flight augmentation computers, which control the A320’s rudder and also automatically prevent it from going too slowly. After initial attempts to address the alerts, the flight crew cut power to the entire system, which is comprised of two separate computers that back each other up, the people said.
While the information helps show how an A320’s flight-protection system could have been bypassed, it does not explain why the pilots pulled the plane into a steep climb, the people said. Even with the computers shut off, the pilots should have been able to fly the plane manually, they said.
Airbus discourages pilots from cutting power to systems because electronics in the highly computerized aircraft are interconnected and turning off one component can affect others, Safety Operating Systems chief executive officer John Cox said in an interview.
“Particularly with an Airbus you don’t do that,” said Cox, a former A320 pilot.
Flight QZ8501 climbed more than 1,524m in less than 30 seconds, rising above the altitude where it was authorized to fly, Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee investigator Ertata Lananggalih said in Jakarta on Thursday.
The co-pilot, who had 2,247 hours of flying experience, was at the controls and talking to controllers while the captain, who had 20,537 hours of flying experience, was monitoring, lead investigator Mardjono Siswosuwarno said.
The investigators did not address whether pilots had cut power to the flight augmentation computer system and said they would not release more information on the case.
“About the flight augmentation computer, I can’t deny, nor confirm it,” Lananggalih said yesterday, when asked about the pilots disabling critical computers. “It’s technical and it’s in investigation territory. Currently, the flight augmentation computer is still being further investigated.”
The aircraft was slanting and ascending and there was a stall alarm, he said.
“There was a chime, but again, this is investigation territory,” he said. “Why should we open it for the public, because it’s still being investigated.”
Airbus is barred from commenting on the accident under international investigation treaties, the company’s North American spokesman, Clay McConnell, said in an e-mail.
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