AirAsia Flight QZ8501 Crash: An Improved Crash Investigation?

Even though the resulting crash is just as tragic, is there an improved investigation of the AirAsia Flight QZ8501 in comparison to the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370?

By: Ringo Bones 

Given that it is still statistically the safest way to travel, air crash incidences involving passenger casualties is always deemed tragic. AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes was almost left speechless upon hearing of the news – as in “no words can express…” - on the crash of AirAsia Flight QZ8501 back in December 28, 2014 en route from Surabaya, Indonesia to Singapore. All the 162 passengers are feared dead and recovery of the wreck and bodies were delayed because of the Java Sea’s bad weather at the time – it was only a week after the crash that the first bodies were found. But has the recent investigation of the AirAsia Flight QZ8501 crash in stark contrast to the investigation done on the still missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370? 

One of the most glaring differences between the two investigations is the lack of an “atmosphere of subterfuge” as the Indonesian authorities readily provided pertinent information relating to the AirAsia Flight QZ8501 in comparison to the start of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. The Federal Aviation Administration even raised the concern that Indonesia’s air traffic controllers were not up to the par in comparison to their international counterparts - which also made everyone ask whether the South-East Asian air travel industry is growing faster than the regional regulation agencies’ ability to keep up.  

Even though the latest ongoing investigations on the recently found black box / flight data recorders of the AirAsia Flight QZ8501 suggests that it got caught in a powerful updraft of a storm cell that caused it to gain in altitude about as fast as a high-performance fighter jet under wind-shear forces that eventually prove too much for what the passenger plane’s airframe was designed to withstand. Further investigations could prove that the circumstances that brought the plane down is by no means a garden variety incident and could certainly result in improvements of currently established civilian air travel safety regimen. 

The Korean Air Macadamia Nut Air Rage Incident: Flying The Unfriendly Skies?

Even though she resigned and has since been deeply apologetic over the incident, is there a chance the Korean Air veep could serve some jail time? 

 By:Ringo Bones 

Immediately after the rather “weird” incident went viral on social media, the father of the Korean Air executive who went ballistic over the improper serving of in-flight macadamia nuts in the first class section of the plane immediately said to the press that “he was disappointed that he didn’t raise his daughter right”. And even though Heather Cho – vice president of the South Korea based airline firm Korea Air - has since resigned and was deeply apologetic over the macadamia nut incident back in December 9, 2014 could face up to 10 years in prison for creating an incident that led to an unauthorized delay of flights and the violation of American federal aviation laws if she’s going to be charged given that the incident happened in U.S. airspace. 

Heather Cho – a.k.a. Cho Hyun Ha – was a passenger at a Korean Air’s first class passenger lounge when she got infuriated when a flight attendant violated protocol by serving her the in-flight macadamia nuts in their original packaging rather than in a dish. And later due to public pressure in South Korea after the incident went viral on various social media service providers, Heather Cho soon resigned from her position as the vice president of Korean Air. 

Due to the Korean Air macadamia nut air rage incident, the rumored culture of bullying in the flight attendant service sector of Korean Air gained some credence of truth after scores of anecdotes soon went viral that such incidents are the norm – rather than the exception and why the public at large seem to remain clueless about it is due to the fact that flight attendants committing minor faux pas are harshly punished and are usually intimidated into silence. Is Korean Air veep Heather Cho running her dad’s company like a Yakuza gang? Even though this news story is till developing, it is overshadowed by the tragic Air Asia Flight QZ8501 that crashed into the Java Sea back in Sunday, December 28, 2014.