Feb. 08 5:42 pm cst Update:

A total of 100 bodies have been recovered of the total 169 people on board. This comes after the plane crashed over a month ago.

The latest reports suggest that the plane was wobbling and veering left a few minutes before the crash. The a320 then continued on and started climbing up in a quick and very steep manner. Reports show that the plan was climbing steeper than its design and eventually stalled. Stall warnings were going off until the aircraft impacted the Java Sea.

If anymore information comes out, we will update this post. @Fandagear will tweet out when those updates are posted.

Jan. 21 8:40 am cst Update:

As weather continues to hamper the search, new information has arisen from the black boxes and radar. The plane was climbing abnormally steep and stalled before the crash. Reports say that audible stall warnings were heard when analyzing the cockpit voice recorder. This information is still fresh and will be updated as more comes in.

Meanwhile, the main fuselage of the plane has not yet been recovered because of the ever changing currents and weather conditions. Additionally, the total number of bodies recovered is 53.

As the salvage mission develops, we will update this post. @Fandagear will tweet out when those updates are posted.

Jan. 14 8:38 am cst Update:

Searchers in the Java Sea have located the majority of the fuselage. The 100 feet of aircraft found is important because many believe that many bodies may still be inside the fuselage. An underwater robot took this picture:

Air Asia’s slogan, “Now everyone can fly”, can be seen in the picture. Air Asia has sated that the slogan had been on the doomed jetliner. The fuselage was found about half a mile form where the black boxes were successfully recovered.

Tomorrow, Thursday, divers will examine the wreckage and look for the bodies possibly inside it. If the divers have difficulties than the wreckage might be lifted.

As the salvage mission develops, we will update this post. @Fandagear will tweet out when those updates are posted.

Jan. 13 7:40pm cst Update:

The data form the flight data recorder had been successfully downloaded.

“The flight data recorder has been downloaded, and all the data are now safe,” Santoso Sayogo, an air-crash expert with Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee

Investigators will start reading the data on Wednesday, a process that can take a few days. The investigators will be looking at critical indicators to help explain why QZ8501 crashes on Dec. 28. The cockpit voice recorder was delivered to shore today and the downloading of that should also start soon.

On a separate note, the total number of bodies recovered is still 48. Also, the latest number of bodies identified, as released by Air Asia, is 36.

As the salvage mission develops, we will update this post. @Fandagear will tweet out when those updates are posted.

Jan. 13 7:56 am cst Update:

Both black boxes from the stricken Air Asia jet have been recovered. The Flight Data Recorder (FDR) was recovered Monday, and the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) was recovered Tuesday. This is a critical part of the search operation, because investigators can now download the data form the recorders and get a pretty good picture of what happened to the Air Asia flight from Surabaya, Indonesia to Singapore, Singapore.

As the salvage mission develops, we will update this post. @Fandagear will tweet out when those updates are posted.

Jan. 11 7:14 pm cst Update:

Divers have located the black boxes from the stricken airliner. Divers have identified the area and marked it for retrial. This is after the pings from the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder were heard yesterday.

With the black boxes in hand, investigators will be able to learn vital information about the plane’s last moments. Without this information investigators could only speculate on what really happened to QZ8501.

As the salvage mission develops, we will update this post. @Fandagear will tweet out when those updates are posted.

Jan. 11 10:49 am cst Update:

There are reports that the crucial black boxes from the Air Asia jet have been located. Indonesia’s search team coordinator at the Directorate of Sea Transport stated that divers from the ship KN Jadayat discovered pings about 100 ft below the water’s cloudy surface.

“The navy divers in Jadayat state boat have succeeded in finding a very important instrument, the black box of AirAsia QZ8501,” Tonny Budiono said in a statement.

He also sated that they appear to be stuck in between wreckage form the a320. He also said that the two separate black boxes are 60 feet apart. On Monday crews will attempt to recover the black boxes by moving bigger pieces of wreckage found.

Air Asia CEO:

We are led to believe Blackbox may ha e been found. Still not confirmed. But strong info coming. But my man thoughts is fuselage.

— Tony Fernandes (@tonyfernandes) January 11, 2015

No additional bodies were located on Sunday, leaving the total at 48, but the number of bodies recovered rose to 32.

As the salvage mission develops, we will update this post. @Fandagear will tweet out when those updates are posted.

Jan. 10 11:21 am cst Update:

The tail section of the doomed Air Asia jet has been recovered. It was pulled up from a depth of 30 meters (100 feet) and hoisted up to the deck of a search vessel. The vertical stabilizer was mostly intact and there were jagged edges where the tail would connect with the rest of the fuselage. Also, the words “Air Asia” were clearly written on the wreckage. This is the first major breakthrough of the slow moving search this week.

The crucial “black boxes” were not located under the tail, as some investigators believed, but pings most likely from the black boxes were heard around the area where the tail was found. The search crews have only about 2 more weeks before the black box’s “pingers” stop giving out the pings.

Additionally, Air Asia reported in their latest update that 48 total bodies have been recovered, of which 29 have been identified.

As the salvage mission develops, we will update this post. @Fandagear will tweet out when those updates are posted.

Jan. 8 9:20 pm cst Update:

As Friday begins in the search area, search crews plan to lift the tail section out of the Java Sea. The tail section of the Air Asia jet, which crashed into the Java Sea on Dec. 28, was found Wednesday and was examined yesterday by divers. The tail will be lifted out of the water using balloons to pull the tail up to the surface. Cranes on boats may also be used to help. The crews are working fast because bad weather is expected to hit later in the day.

Also, a total of 44 bodies have been recovered so far out of the 162 on board.

As the salvage mission develops, we will update this post. @Fandagear will tweet out when those updates are posted.

Jan. 7 9:50 am cst Update: 

It was reported Wednesday that the tail section of the plane has been located. A group of divers, who haven’t been able to search for days before because of weather, and an unmanned vehicle spotted the wreckage. This is the first major piece of wreckage found since the jet crashed over a week ago.

 

Air Asia CEO tweeted out:

I am led to believe the tail section has been found. If right part of tail section then the black box should be there. — Tony Fernandes (@tonyfernandes) January 7, 2015

The crucial flight data recorders which will greatly help in the investigation are located in the tail of the plane. This discovery  means that searchers may be really close to finding the “black boxes”. Also, the total number of bodies recovered had risen to 40. As the search develops, we will update this post. @Fandagear will tweet out when those updates are posted.

Jan. 5 8:10 am cst Update:

As the 9th day of searching ends, the total of bodies found rose to 37. The divers looking for the debris had to tackle muddy waters with, at times, 0 visibility. This really affected the search and the main part of the wreckage, as well as the important flight data recorders, were not located yet.

Feel free to scroll down and read previous updates on this developing story.

As the search develops, we will update this post. @Fandagear will tweet out when those updates are posted.

Jan. 4 8:11 pm cst Update:

As the search resumes Monday, the weather has improved. This will let divers once again try to locate the large metal objects detected in the Java Sea. The dive was halted yesterday due to bad weather. Suryadi B. Supriyadi, Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue director of operations, stated what would happen if the divers failed:

“If it cannot be done by divers, we will use sophisticated equipment with capabilities of tracking underwater objects and then will lift them up,” Supriyadi said. “But today’s searching mission is still, once again, depend on the weather,” he said.

As the search develops, we will update this post. @Fandagear will tweet out when those updates are posted.

Jan. 4 10:04 am cst Update:

As the Search ends Sunday, it also marks the end of the 8th day of search. 4 more bodies were recovered bringing up the total to 34. Additionally, officials have identified 3 more bodies of the ones already recovered. An additional piece of wreckage was located measuring about 10 meters by 1 meter ( 33×3 feet).

The weather was forecasted to be good for the search, but choppy seas once again affected the search. The divers that were supposed to examine large metal objects, believed to be part of the plane, went on standby as low visibility and strong currents stopped the dive.

As the search develops, we will update this post. @Fandagear will tweet out when those updates are posted.

Jan. 3 9:42 pm cst Update:

As the Sunday search begins, divers are getting set to examine the large metal objects found earlier in the weekend. About 90 divers from Indonesia and Russia will go to recover debris and possibly more bodies that officials believe are still strapped in their seats. The divers will be focusing on the four massive metal objects that officials are most likely form the stricken jetliner. This dive can happen as weather conditions have improved and storms subsided.

As the salvage mission develops, we will update this post. @Fandagear will tweet out when those updates are posted.

Jan. 3 8:07 pm cst Update:

The BMKG, or Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics, have stated that initial findings show that icy conditions may have been a vital factor in the Air Asia flight.

“From our data it looks like the last location of the plane had very bad weather and it was the biggest factor behind the crash,” said Edvin Aldrian, head of research at BMKG. “These icy conditions can stall the engines of the plane and freeze and damage the planes machinery.”

This analysis is only speculation as the data recorders inside the aircraft have not been found yet. The reason the “black boxes” have not been identified is partly because the main fuselage has not been located yet and bad weather is affecting the search. The total of bodies found is still at 30 and 6 of those have been identified. As the Sunday search gets under way, there are hopes more bodies and debris will be found.

As the salvage mission develops, we will update this post. @Fandagear will tweet out when those updates are posted.

Jan. 3 10:33 am cst Update:

A total of 4 large metal objects have been detected in the search for the stricken Air Asia jet. The largest one is reported to be  59 feet long and 18 feet wide. Remotely controlled vehicles have been sent to capture images of these objects. These are most likely part of the jet, but searchers can’t say 100%.

Feel free to scroll down and read previous updates on this developing story. As the search develops, we will update this post. @Fandagear will tweet out when those updates are posted.

Jan. 2 10:05 pm cst Update:

2 large metal objects have been found in the search for the missing Air Asia a320. The objects were detected by a metal detection system on board an Indonesian ship. This information comes from the head of Indonesia’s Search and Rescue Agency, Bambang Soelistyo. The objects measure 9.2 x 4.6 x 0.5 meters (30 x 15 x 1.6 feet) and 7.2 x 0.5 meters (24 x 1.6 feet) respectably. A remotely operated vehicle has been sent to take pictures of these believed pieces of the jetliner.

As the search develops, we will update this post. @Fandagear will tweet out when those updates are posted.

Jan. 2 9:38 pm Update:

As the search develops, Indonesia has expanded the search zone. The search area has been expanded as debris may have drifted over 200 nautical miles.

“With the strength of the winds, waves and current, we extended the search area to 210 nautical miles,” Air Force Lt. Col. Johnson said.

Please look at the post below this one to get a picture on where the search stands right now. As the search develops, we will update this post. @Fandagear will tweet out when those updates are posted.

Jan. 2 9:28 pm cst Update: As the search in the Java Sea continues, there hasn’t been that much more learned. The major thing that can be mentioned at this time is that a window panel from the plane has been found

30 total bodies have been revered so far and 4 have been identified. The search for the main fuselage, which hasn’t been located yet, and the all important data recorders is also in full swing. Ships are scouring the ocean floor using sonar, and others are listening for the pings given off by the “black box”. 59 teams of divers are also helping in the search, this includes 22 from Russia. Moscow also sent a search jet.

Feel free to scroll down and read previous updates on this developing story. As the search develops, we will update this post. @Fandagear will tweet out when those updates are posted.

Jan. 2 9:58 am cst Update:

As the the 6th day of searching ended, a total of 3o bodies have been recovered. This makes 21 total bodies found on Friday, and 14 more found after the morning announcement of 7 (see update below). Its reported that over a third of the bodies were recovered by the U.S. naval vessel on the scene. Col. Yayan Sofiyan, commander of the warship Bung Tomo, reportedly recovered up to 5 victims still bucked in their seats. This could support that there was no time of evacuation after impact. Ships from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the U.S are scouring the ocean floor looking for the wreckage and all important data recorders.

As the search develops, we will update this post. @Fandagear will tweet out when those updates are posted.

Jan. 1 10:59 cst Update:

As of Friday morning in the search area, 7 more bodies have been recovered, bringing the total recovered to 16. Suryadi B. Supriyadi, operation coordinator for the National Search and Rescue Agency, announced that 6 of those bodies were recovered by a U.S. Naval vessel. With more than 145 still missing, more ships have arrived. As the important task of finding the bodies continues, all found will be transported to Surabaya, Indonesia to be identified.

The extensive search operation is also really focusing on finding the data recorders to help solve this mysterious crash. Planes with metal detectors are looking for the main wreckage as boats listen for the pings from the “black box”.

As the salvage mission develops, we will update this post. @Fandagear will tweet out when those updates are posted.

Jan. 1 9:55 pm cst Update:

As the 6th day of search is under way, no real advancements have been made. No new bodies have been recovered, leaving the total at nine. This seems to support the theory that many bodies are still in the plane (see update below).

Another thing affecting the search is bad and stormy weather conditions. Waves have been reported over 9 feet and are hampering the search for the bodies and the all important data and voice recorders. This weather is expected to go on till January 4th. Feel free to scroll down and read previous updates on this developing story.

As the search develops, we will update this post. @Fandagear will tweet out when those updates are posted.

Jan. 1 2:47 pm cst Update:

After five days of searching and only nine bodies recovered, some think that the victims might still be in their seats. Rear Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto, an Indonesian air force spokesman, talked to reporters:

Sonar images have identified what appeared to be large parts of the plane. We are “focusing on finding the body of the plane,” Indonesia air force spokesman Rear Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto told reporters. “It’s possible the bodies are in the fuselage,” said Vice Air Marshal Sunarbowo Sandi, search and rescue coordinator in Pangkalan Bun. “So it’s a race now against time and weather.”

To sum up, if a large part of the airplane is intact on the ocean floor, than it is likely that many victims are still inside, as they were on impact. If the corpses are left in the water, they will decompose. Now its a race against time and weather to get as much bodies and debris as possible.

As the salvage mission develops, we will update this post. @Fandagear will tweet out when those updates are posted.

Jan. 1 9:46 am cst Update:

As the 5th day of searching comes to a close, a total of nine bodies have been officially confirmed to have been picked up. One of those bodies was identified today and buried by the passenger’s family. After bad weather subsided a bit, searchers could temporarily resume the aerial search. Investigators say that the black box “pingers” have only 25 days of battery power left. With out them it might be harder to locate the all important data recorders.

As the search develops, we will update this post. @Fandagear will tweet out when those updates are posted.

Dec. 31 1:03 pm cst Update:

New radar information shows that the plane may have been climbing very steeply before the crash. Investigators report that the rate of climb way very high, even too high. If this radar data is in fact true, it could be a step towards finding out what ultimately when wrong with flight QZ8501.

The weather is still bad and the search continues, but with bad sea conditions.

As the investigation develops, we will update this post. @Fandagear will tweet out when those updates are posted.

Dec. 31 9:22 am cst Update:

As night falls in the search area, only one extra body has been recovered, bringing the total up to seven. Two bodies have been already transported to Surabaya’s Juanda airport to be identified. Sonar detected what may be larger pieces of the aircraft, but strong currents seem to be moving the wreckage. The weather in the search area is very stormy and is hindering search conditions. The rain and clouds have mostly grounded helicopters, but ships are still carrying out the search.

As the salvage mission develops, we will update this post. @Fandagear will tweet out when those updates are posted.

Dec. 30 7:51 pm cst Update:

As the search in the Java sea continues, six total bodies have been recovered. The Indonesian search and rescue chief, Bambang Soelistyo, has said that one of the bodies is a flight attendant . Ambulances are lining up in Surabaya, Indonesia to pick up any bodies recovered. The searchers are using sonar to scan below the water below the surface to help find the rest of the aircraft. Investigators are also searching for the all important “black boxes” which will help investigators figure out what happened to the stricken jet.

Conditions are not the best though.  Heavy winds, cloudy weather, and high waves are what the teams in the Java Sea are experiencing.

As the search develops Wednesday we will update this post. @Fandagear will tweet out when those updates are posted.

Dec. 30 5:23 pm cst Update:

This quick update on the Air Asia story is that the fourth day of searching for the stricken jet has begun. The search resumed 5 am local time (5pm ET, 4pm CST). Today’s main goal, according to the Indonesian president, is to recover bodies of the victims. The searchers, from 10 nations, are searching in the new search area are where the debris were found. Another vital thing searchers are looking for is the data recorders or “black box”. They will also be searching for the actual main body of the aircraft withc hasn’t been found yet (only some debris found at this point).

As the search develops Wednesday we will update this post. @Fandagear will tweet out when those updates are posted.

Dec. 30 3:09 pm cst Update:

Reports are that some debris has been spotted as far as 100-200 kilometers from the planes last known location. When the fourth day of the search starts soon, the search craft will be focusing in the areas where some debris were already found

.

The USS Sampson arrived Tuesday and the Pentagon has said that USS Fort Worth would be deploying from Singapore soon.

“It can be ready to sail in a day or two to get on station and can be there very quickly,”

said Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby.

As the search begins Wednesday we will update this post. @Fandagear will tweet out when those updates are posted.

Dec. 30 9:04 am cst Update:

Officials say that debris found in the Java Sea during the third day of searching are part of the missing plane. The debris were found just 6 miles from the planes last known location. It all started when Indonesian search crews spotted bodies in the search area. They then found more bodies and debris most likely belonging to the stricken jet. Crews have picked up what they believe to be an aircraft door and emergency slide as well as what seems to be part of the fuselage of the plane with the Air Asia colors.

The latest count of bodies picked up is about 3 (an earlier report of 40 was supposedly miscommunicated through the Indonesian navy), with the number growing. This was found in the Karimata Strait and the search area has been made smaller to 70 square-nautical-miles. This is where all the craft participating in the search will continue the salvage operation. A 24 hour operation has been launched. Air Asia tweeted out that they are standing together with everyone effected:

We are deeply saddened by the news of QZ8501. Heartfelt condolences to loved ones of those affected #togetherwestandpic.twitter.com/gFHpYAJpAq — AirAsia (@AirAsia) December 30, 2014

We will update this story as more information comes in. @Fandagear will tweet out when those updates are posted.

Dec. 29 10:49 pm cst Update:

As the third day of the search for the Air Asia jet is under way, the search area has been expanded

.

An interesting report is that “billowing smoke” was supposedly spotted on Long Island, just south of Belitung island in the search area. This was spotted by a Chinese television crew and Indonesian search teams were deployed to verify what this smoke is coming from. Experts warn not to get hopes up that this is the jetliner because an “oil slick” spotted yesterday was just some reefs close to the surface of the water. For now the search continues.

We will update this story as more information comes in. @Fandagear will tweet out when those updates are posted.

Dec. 29 7:33 pm cst Update:

The U.S. 7th fleet has announced that USS Sampson, a San Diego based destroyer, will join the search for the missing jet on Tuesday.

Dec. 29 4:24 pm cst Update:

A quick update on the search for Air Asia Flight 8501 is that Indonesia has officially asked the US to help in the search efforts.

“There are several units currently operating in the region, and we have a variety of assets, both air and surface, capable of deploying if tasked,” a U.S. 7^th fleet spokesperson told Fox News Monday.

This comes after 2 days of searching brought up no new insights into the whereabouts of the missing jet.

Dec. 29 9:14 am cst Update:

As the second day of searching comes to a close, there is still no sign of the missing Air Asia jet. The weather conditions throughout the day were reported as very clear and the water mostly calm. Based on the plane’s last known coordinates, experts believe that the plane is most likely on the bottom of the sea. The search area will be widened tomorrow, Tuesday Dec. 30, to cover more possible locations. We will update this story as more information comes in. @Fandagear will tweet out when those updates are posted.

Dec. 28 8:22 pm cst Update:

As dawn breaks in Southeast Asia, the search for the missing Air Asia Jet resumes. The weather conditions are poor and it might make things harder for the search team. As the water over which the airliner last communicated is a busy shipping channel, boats in the area were urged to keep a look out. Australia launched a Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion Maritime Patrol Aircraft to help in the search.

“The RAAF AP-3C Orion aircraft has a well proven capability in search and rescue and carries maritime search radar coupled with infra-red and electro-optical sensors to support the visual observation capabilities provided by its highly trained crew members,” Australian Air Chief Marshal Binskin said.

We will update this story as more information comes in. @Fandagear will tweet out when those updates are posted.

Original Post (Dec. 28 11:16am cst):

At 7:24 am Singapore time on Sunday December 26, Air Asia flight 8501 lost contact over the Java sea on a short flight from Surabaya, Indonesia to Singapore. The low budget carrier tweeted out confirming the news:

AirAsia Indonesia regrets to confirm that QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore has lost contact at 07:24hrs this morning http://t.co/WomRQuzcPO — AirAsia (@AirAsia) December 28, 2014

All that is known at this time is that the Airbus A320, carrying 162 people on board, told ATC about halfway through the flight that they wanted to bank left and climb to 38,000 feet in order to avoid bad weather. Soon after this, contact with the aircraft was lost. Flightradar24 shows where the aircraft stopped communicating about 42 minutes into the flight:

After a day long search Sunday, nothing was found.The search is expected to resume Monday at dawn. The Air Asia plane, based in Malaysia, is the second commercial aircraft to have gone missing in 2014. Malaysia Airlines, who lost MH370 nine months ago and still hasn’t found it, tweeted out their support:

#staystrong @AirAsia – Our thoughts and prayers are with all family and friends of those on board QZ8501. — Malaysia Airlines (@MAS) December 28, 2014

There are still many details not known about QZ8501. We will update this story as more information comes in. @Fandagear will tweet out when those updates are posted.