Families of the 162 passengers aboard AirAsia Flight 8501 are grieving this morning, as it has been confirmed that the wreckage has been found in the ocean about 6 miles from the Airbus's last-known location. About halfway into the two-hour flight, the crew encountered extremely bad weather early Sunday morning, Dec. 28, and when Capt. Iriyanto requested permission to climb to a higher altitude, he was denied. Two minutes later, the controller told him that it was safe to proceed to 38,000 feet, but got no response. Loved ones held out hope for more than two days, only to have the worst confirmed early this morning, Dec. 30.
AirAsia group CEO Tony Fernandes has attempted to handle this tragedy with great care and has been nothing but supportive and empathetic toward the families who were waiting for official word.
Today, Fernandes tweeted, "My heart is filled with sadness for all the families involved in QZ 8501. On behalf of AirAsia my condolences to all. Words cannot express how sorry I am."
He has since flown back to Surabaya to be with the grieving families. He also has chartered a flight to take them out to the airspace over the Java Sea to say their final goodbyes to loved ones in the area where they lost their lives.
Sadly, Indonesian television showed footage of the wreckage, as well as a bloated body being retrieved from the water, before an official statement had been made. Many families ended up finding out that their loved ones were gone for good by watching the news, and that seemed to simply compound the emotional upheaval.
Investigators will be taking a close look at those last transmissions as well as the weather in the area Sunday morning. Six other planes were able to safely fly through the storms at the same time, presumably at a higher altitude. That means that had the airspace been clear enough for Flight 8501 to climb to the requested 38,000 feet, there is a chance this accident might never have had to happen.
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