News analysis [Transport Air Safety]

THE CRASH OF an AirAsia Indonesia (AAI) Airbus A320 in violent storms in the Karimata Straits of the Java Sea has raised a series of questions about standards of practice for flights in the region. The airline lost contact with flight QZ8501 45 minutes into its journey from Surabaya to Singapore on 28 December, after pilots had requested a change of altitude to avoid bad weather in the area. One issue that has surfaced in the aftermath of the accident is that unlike other Indonesian carriers Garuda, Sriwijaya, and low-cost airlines Lion Air and Citilink, AAI does not have any flight operations officers to brief pilots on weather conditions prior to take-off. While transport minister Ignatius Jonan took AAI to task for not adhering to regulations, the airline???s pilots described the reprimand as without substance. Speaking on behalf of the pilots, senior captain Fadjar Nugroho indicated that there was no need for his colleagues to be briefed as they could access the weather information themselves.