The last words of Flight QZ8501's pilot

The last words of Flight QZ8501's pilot have been revealed. Captain Iriyanto is said to have asked Indonesian state navigation operator AirNav for permission to turn left to avoid a storm. His request was granted and the jet turned left seven miles. According to AirNav standards and safety director Wisnu Darjono, the captain then asked if he could climb, saying: "Request to higher level." The air traffic controller responded: "Intended to what level?", to which Iriyanto said he wanted to go to 38,000 feet. It was the last AirNav heard from the pilot. The revelation came as the search for missing Flight QZ8501 entered its third day. Ships and aircraft from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia are scouring the Java Sea for any trace of the AirAsia plane, which disappeared on Saturday with 162 people on board. The Airbus 320-200 had been flying from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore when it vanished. Weather conditions were poor in the Java Sea when the aircraft disappeared. The man leading the search for Flight QZ8501 has said it is likely "at the bottom of the sea".

SH13BN JKIA RUNWAY PLAN GATHERS SPEED

Kenya Airports Authority’s plan to build a second runway at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport has gathered speed with the national environment regulator inviting public input on the project before its approval.

In a gazette notice on Friday, the National Environment Management Authority, released the environmental impact assessment report for the 5.5km runway at the airport inviting public opinion.

The second runway, whose construction was to start last year at a cost of Sh13 billion, is expected to facilitate direct travels to long haul destinations.

NON-STOP FLIGHTS

It was meant to open non-stop flights between Kenya and United States, but its construction has delayed since June 2013 due to funding hitches.

The runway will comprise a 45-metre pavement and will be 5.5 kilometres long with shoulders, drainage and taxi ways.

FAA proposed $317,500 civil penalty against United Air Lines

The U.S Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing a $317,500 civil penalty against United Air Lines, Inc. of Chicago, Ill., for allegedly operating an aircraft that was not in compliance with Federal Aviation Regulations.

The FAA alleges that on January 19, 2013, United mechanics removed and replaced a nose landing gear wheel and tire on a Boeing 767 without installing a required axle washer. The Boeing and United maintenance manuals warn that the wheel bearing can fail if the washer is not installed. An FAA inspector discovered the missing washer during a routine inspection.

United allegedly operated the aircraft on 35 passenger flights when the washer was missing. The aircraft was not in an airworthy condition during those flights, the FAA alleges.

United has requested to meet with the FAA to discuss the case.

Discovery of AirAsia flight QZ8501 debris confirmed

Discovery of AirAsia flight QZ8501 debris confirmed

Indonesian rescuers have confirmed the discovery of the wreckage of the liner. In Indonesia, the Ministry of Transport said that the objects found off the coast of Borneo, are likely to be the fragments of the missing aircraft AirAsia, reportsLenta.Ru citing Reuters. According to various sources, more than 40 bodies have been already retrieved. 

According to RIA Novosti, the Indonesian Air Force also found human bodies. "There was a person in the water. After I reviewed the photos on my laptop, I have realized that the body was of the deceased, " said lieutenant Prabowo.

Earlier, the authorities said that about a dozen "red-white" (color airline AirAsia) large and many smaller items  were found in the sea. According to Agus Dwi Putranto, Indonesia's aviation Vice-Marshal, objects were found approximately 10 kilometers from the place where the radar recorded the missing aircraft for the last time; two of them resembled the door liner and emergency chute.

Airplane Airbus A320-200 Malaysia's AirAsia, flying QZ8501 flight from Surabaya in Indonesia Singapore, disappeared from the radar on the night of December 28. On board were 162 people, including 17 children.

Russia wants to ban foreign pilot employment

According to deputies, the recent shortage of pilots was replaced by an unprecedented oversaturation of the market, according to Izvestia.

State Duma deputy Mikhail Degtyarev prepared a bill repealing the amendments adopted earlier in 2014, which prohibited Russian companies specializing in air transport to hire foreign pilots. The draft law proposed to  declare null the changes in Art. 56 Air Code and Art. 14 of the Federal Law "On the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens in the Russian Federation."

According to the Parliament, the admission of foreign citizens in the Russian flight crew poses a threat to national security. In the context of international instability and sanctions to employ foreigners it would be a manifestation of indulgence to the West, was confident MP.

According to the Vice-President of the aircrew Trade Union, Oleg Prikhodko, personnel market is going through hard times, and the end of 2014 about 400 pilots lost their jobs.

Meanwhile, one of the largest Russian airlines said that the abolition of the recently adopted rules was premature.

In April, the aeronautical authorities assessed the shortage of personnel to be in the 1-1.4 thousand. It was assumed that Russian airlines will attract 200 pilots annually until 2019.

US sends warship as Indonesia expands search for AirAsia plane

JAKARTA, INDONESIA

A US warship Tuesday joined an expanded search for an AirAsia passenger plane missing off Indonesia as the pilot's last words to air traffic control were revealed.

The recording shows the pilot wanted to avoid a menacing storm system before all communication was lost, an Indonesian air safety official said.

More than 48 hours after the Airbus A320-200 carrying 162 people lost contact en route from Indonesia's second largest city Surabaya to Singapore, no clue has been found as to the plane's final location or fate.

Before take-off the pilot had asked for permission to fly at a higher level to avoid a storm but his request was not approved due to heavy traffic on the popular route, AirNav, Indonesia's flight navigation service, said Tuesday.

In his final communication, the pilot asked to alter his course and repeated his original request to ascend to avoid bad weather.

"The pilot requested to air traffic controllers to deviate to the left side due to bad weather, which was immediately approved," Wisnu Darjono, the safety director for Indonesia's flight navigation service AirNav told AFP.

"After a few seconds the pilot requested to ascend from 32,000 to 38,000 feet but could not be immediately approved as some planes were flying above it at that time," Darjono said.

That was the last communication with AirAsia Flight QZ8501.

"Two to three minutes later when the controller was going to give a clearance to a level of 34,000, the plane did not give any response," he said.

At take-off the pilot had requested permission to fly at 34,000 feet but due to traffic it could not be approved, he said.

"At that time there were 11 planes flying route M635," he said, adding that 160 flights a day used the route to Singapore.

NO SIGN OF AIRCRAFT

Details of the pilot's final contact came as the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) said it had expanded the search.

The hunt is focused on waters around the islands of Bangka and Belitung in the Java Sea, across from Kalimantan on Borneo Island, but the army has also been asked to carry out ground searches, including in mountainous areas.

Basarnas chief Bambang Soelistyo told reporters the search zone had been expanded from seven sectors to 13, covering 156,000 square kilometres (60,000 square miles).

"We intensified today's search operation by expanding the search area on sea from the coordinates where the plane was missing and on land to the east and west of Borneo island," deputy operations chief Tatang Zainuddin told AFP.

As the search resumed at dawn for a third day, he said oil spills spotted on Monday had been tested but were not aviation fuel.

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"The oil leak is actually from fishermen's boats, not from the AirAsia plane," Zainuddin said.

"We haven't found any signs of the aircraft's whereabouts up to now."

Indonesian officials however appear to be preparing for the worst, with Soelistyo saying Monday it was likely the plane was at "the bottom of the sea", based on its estimated position.

INTERNATIONAL EFFORT

Australia, Singapore and Malaysia have sent maritime surveillance aircraft and warships to assist in the search, joining Indonesian planes, ships and scores of fishing boats scouring the waters for signs of the ill-fated aircraft.

Washington said it was deploying the USS Sampson to join the growing international effort, with the destroyer expected to arrive in the search zone Tuesday.

South Korea said it was sending a P-3 reconnaissance plane that was involved in the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 which vanished in March.

While the operation has drawn comparisons with the ongoing search for MH370, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot said it did not appear to be a great mystery.

"It doesn't appear that there's any particular mystery here," Abbott told Sydney radio station 2GB on Monday.

"It's an aircraft that was flying a regular route on a regular schedule, it struck what appears to have been horrific weather, and it's down. But this is not a mystery like the MH370 disappearance and it's not an atrocity like the MH17 shooting down."

China, which had 152 citizens onboard MH370, said it was sending a frigate and military aircraft to help with the new search.

AirAsia said 155 of those on board were Indonesian, with three South Koreans and one person each from Singapore, Malaysia, Britain and France. The Frenchman was the co-pilot.

The missing plane was operated by AirAsia Indonesia, a unit of Malaysian-based AirAsia which dominates Southeast Asia's booming low-cost airline market.

Indonesia, a vast archipelago with poor roads and railways, has seen explosive growth in low-cost air travel over recent years.

But the air industry has been blighted by low safety standards in an area that also experiences extreme weather.

AirAsia, which has never suffered a fatal accident, said the missing jet last underwent maintenance on November 16.

The plane's disappearance comes at the end of a disastrous year for Malaysian aviation.

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March with 239 passengers and crew, and in July flight MH17 was shot down over unrest-hit Ukraine, killing all 298 on board.

AirAsia QZ8501: Search zone for missing plane expanded

The hunt for AirAsia flight QZ8501 has entered a third day, with the search area widened to cover land and sea.

Indonesian officials say they are sending teams to investigate reports of smoke on an island in East Bilutung, inside the expanded search zone.

The Airbus A320-200, carrying 162 people, disappeared on Sunday shortly after leaving Surabaya in eastern Java, Indonesia, on its way to Singapore.

The pilot's last contact was a request to divert around bad weather.

Countries around the region as well as the US, France and Australia are joining the search over the Java sea.

Indonesian officials say air traffic control approved one request, then gave clearance to a second request - asking permission to climb - two to three minutes later.

No reply was received and the plane disappeared from radar. No trace has yet been found.

President Joko Widodo dismissed suggestions that debris and oil from the fuel tanks may have been discovered by saying: "We have to tell it like it is... So far our efforts haven't found clarity about the plane's position."

While some relatives will keep the fire of hope burning, there is the developing, devastating realisation for others that their loved ones will not be found alive.

It is an agony that people here are beginning to get used to as time drags on and optimism and hope ebb away.

On board the plane were 137 adult passengers, 17 children and one infant, along with two pilots and five crew.

Most were Indonesian but the passengers included one UK national, a Malaysian, a Singaporean and three South Koreans.

Pilot Capt Iriyanto had more than 20,500 flight hours, almost 7,000 of them with AirAsia. The co-pilot was French national Remi Emmanuel Plesel.

On Tuesday, Indonesian search and rescue officials said they were deploying teams to investigate reports of "billowing smoke" on Long Island, just south of Belitung island, inside the search zone.

At least 30 ships, 15 aircraft and seven helicopters joined the operation when it resumed at 06:00 local time, said Indonesian officials, with the search now covering 13 different areas across land and sea.

The multinational operation, led by Indonesia, has been joined by Malaysia, Singapore and Australia, with other offers of help from South Korea, Thailand, China and France. The US destroyer USS Sampson is on its way to the zone.

The BBC's Alice Budisatrijo at Surabaya's Juanda airport says those offers come as welcome news to the relatives, who understand the limited technical capabilities of the Indonesian authorities to locate and retrieve the plane, especially if it is underwater.

Bambang Soelistyo, the head of Indonesia's search-and-rescue agency, told the Associated Press that military helicopters had been despatched to scour land over Borneo island.

"Until now, we have not yet found any signal or indication of the plane's whereabouts," he said.

On Monday, he said he suspected the aircraft was at the bottom of the sea, but there is so far no evidence of this.

Indonesian officials confirmed on Tuesday that material spotted on the seas off Belitung island was not aviation fuel as had been thought.

'Then no reply'

The plane had left Surabaya at 05:35 Jakarta time and had been due to arrive in Singapore two hours later.

Wisnu Darjono, AirNav safety director, said Capt Iriyanto requested permission to bank left at 06:12 to avoid a storm. The request was immediately granted and the plane changed course.

According to state navigation operator AirNav Indonesia, the pilot then asked to take the plane from 32,000ft (9,800m) to 38,000ft but did not explain why he wanted to do so.

Indonesian air traffic control staff told the pilot he could take the plane to 34,000ft but no higher because another AirAsia airliner was flying at 38,000ft.

"It took us around two to three minutes to communicate with Singapore," Mr Darjono said. "But when we informed the pilot of the approval at 06:14, we received no reply."

The plane was officially declared missing at 07:55.

It is unclear what happened next but one report suggests the plane may have tried to climb through the storm.

Former pilots say a climb could have led to reduced stability and possibly a fatal stall, as cross winds and down draughts battered the plane.

The AirAsia plane was delivered in 2008, has flown 13,600 times, completing 23,000 hours, and underwent its last maintenance in November.

AirAsia previously had an excellent safety record and there were no fatal accidents involving its aircraft.