The last call of QZ8501 pilot with the ground

AirAsia QZ8501 flight captain asked for permission to divert and raise the altitude of the aircraft in the final contact with the air traffic control station before missing.

According to the BBC, the last call between the plane and Surabaya airport control station was revealed by AirNav, the Indonesian national flight operator, last night.

The plane left Surabaya at 5:35 on December 28 and is scheduled to arrive in Singapore at 8:30.

However, Mr. Wisnu Darjono, AirNav's safety director, said that at 6:12, captain Iriyanto, 53, had asked permission to turn left to avoid a storm. This request is immediately approved and the aircraft has redirected.

A search plane QZ8501.(Photo: AFP)

After that, Mr. Iriyanto continued asking permission to take the plane from the height of 9.8 km to 11.5km but did not explain why he wanted to do so.

After contacting colleagues in Singapore, the Indonesian air traffic officer informed the captain that he could only raise the altitude to 10.4 km, because there is another AirAsia aircraft operating on the side. on.

"It took us about two to three minutes to contact Singapore," said Darjono. "However, when we announced approval with the captain at 6:14, no response was received".

Officials officially declared the QZ8501 missing at 7:55.

It is unclear what happened after that, but there are doubts that the plane may have tried to overcome a storm. The former pilots said this could destabilize the aircraft and stall, due to heavy winds hitting the plane.

Iriyanto Captain has more than 20,500 flight hours, nearly 7,000 of which are for AirAsia. The copilot is Remi Emmanuel Plesel, French.

Dozens of aircraft and ships today are scheduled to draft an area away from the original route of the Airbus A320-200. Indonesian officials suspect the plane has fallen into the sea but no evidence has yet been found.

The US said Indonesia had asked Washington to seek. The US State Department said it is willing to help but is considering ways to support it.