Crashed Plane: Pilot Request To Fly At Higher Altitude Due To Storm, Permission Denied

Flight QZ8501 came down during a storm en route from Indonesia's second city Surabaya to Singapore, and its flight data recorders have yet to be recovered.
Weather was the "triggering factor" in the fatal AirAsia plane crash, according to Indonesia's meteorological agency BMKG.

But an initial report on the BMKG website suggests the weather played a major role in the disaster after the plane appeared to fly into storm clouds.

"Based on the available data received on the location of the aircraft's last contact, the weather was the triggering factor behind the accident," the report said.

"The most probable weather phenomenon was icing which can cause engine damage due to a cooling process."

Before take-off, the pilot had asked to fly at a higher altitude to avoid the storm, but permission was denied because of the number of planes above him on the busy route.

In his last communication, Captain Iriyanto, an experienced former air force pilot, said he wanted to change course to avoid the storm system.

Soon after all contact was lost, about 40 minutes after the Airbus A320-200 had taken off.

Five major parts of the jet have been found in the sea off Borneo, raising hopes the remaining bodies and the crucial "black box" recorders would soon be located.

It is thought one of the pieces of debris may be the "suspected tail". So far 30 bodies have been recovered and brought ashore.

High seas have hampered the relief operation, but divers were preparing to go down to the wreckage on Sunday as the weather improved.

"The waves are calmer, only one to two metres (three to seven feet) high," search and rescue official S B Supriyadi told AFP, adding 95 divers were on standby on various ships.

"We'll be concentrating on the underwater search. We want to speed up the evacuation of bodies which might be stuck inside the plane," he said.

AirAsia, which has now been suspended from flying the Surabaya-Singapore route, declined to comment, although it said it would "fully co-operate" with any inquiry.