[Peetwo]

Developing story Air Asia QZ8501 Final Report released:

Faulty rudder system major factor in AirAsia QZ8501 crash

Repeated problems with the system led to the pilots disengaging the autopilot in stormy weather in a bid to fix the situation, and then losing control of the Airbus A320-200.

• POSTED: 01 Dec 2015 15:27
  

File photo of a section of AirAsia flight QZ8501's tail being loaded onto a boat for transportation to Jakarta from Kumai Port, near Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan

JAKARTA: A fault with the rudder control system was a major factor in the crash in December into the Java Sea of an AirAsia plane, with the loss of 162 lives, Indonesian investigators said Tuesday (Dec 1).

Repeated problems with the system led to the pilots disengaging the autopilot in stormy weather in a bid to fix the situation, and then losing control of the Airbus A320-200, Indonesia's official National Transportation Safety Committee said. 

Flight QZ8501 was en route from Surabaya to Singapore when it crashed on Dec 28, 2014. 

- AFP/rw

  
Will update as more details come to hand and/or the actual final report becomes publicly available.
MTF..P2