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AirAsia:Thequestiononeveryone'smind

SHARETHIS
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ByMarianoCastillo,CNN

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updated8:49AMEST,TueDecember30,2014|

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Source:CNN

STORYHIGHLIGHTS
NEW:DebrisfromAirAsiaflight
hasbeenrecovered,officials
saytwobodiesfound

(CNN)Youdon'thavetobeanexperttoaskyourselfthe
question:Howintheworld,withtoday'stechnology,cana
commercialairplanegomissing?

Thequestion:Howcanwelose
aplane?

It'saquestion,butalsoanexpressionofdisbelief.

Thereispressurefornew
technologytobeinstalledon
planes

ThosewhogetlostdrivingcanuseGPS.IfyouloseyouriPhone,
there'sanapptotrackitdown.Scientistssuccessfullyplottedthe
courseforaspacecraftthatlandedonaspeedingcomet.

Butthereareobstaclesthat
remain

Butsomethinggoeswrongaboarda123foot,67tonpassengerjet,
andrescuersmustresorttoscouringtheocean?
WhyiseasiertofindaniPhonethentofindaplane?Dotheynot
havemorethenonetrackingdevice?#8501QS#CNN

CatalinaBuitano(@CatalinaSheeran)December29,2014

"WhyisiteasiertofindaniPhone(than)tofindaplane?"one
Twitteruser,CatalinaBuitano,asked.
Therearedozensofsimilarquestionsonsocialmedia.Theyhintat
thesamesentiment:Inaworldwherepeople'slocationsare
trackedforeverythingfrommapappstowhatadsappearonaWeb
browser,whydoesBigBrother'sgazeavoidtheskies?
Whyinthisdayinagedowerelyonthephysicalrecoveryof
blackboxes?Flightdatashouldbecontinuouslystreamedtothe
cloud#8501qs

PromotedStories:

Partofcompletecoverageon

AirAsiaFlightQZ8501
Whatweknow,whatwedon'tknow
updated10:21AMEST,ThuJanuary1,2015

Searcherslookingformore
bodiesandwreckagefrom
AirAsiaFlightQZ8501inthe
JavaSeafacedfresh
difficultieswithbadweather.

Familiesshowquietdignity
updated8:10AMEST,ThuJanuary1,2015

NewYear'sEvewasastark
andpainfulreminderthatmany
ofthevictimsofQZ8501were
ontheirwaytoSingaporeto
celebratethenewyearthere.

Investigating:Whatneedstobedone?
JacobRossi(@jacobrossi)December29,2014

"Why,inthisdayandage,dowerelyonthephysicalrecoveryof
blackboxes?Flightdatashouldbecontinuouslystreamedtothe
cloud,"readatweetbyJacobRossi.
Ofcourse,thisquestionhasbeenaskedbefore.
AirAsiaFlightQZ8501

ThedisappearanceofAirAsiaFlight8501onSundaywasthe
secondtimethisyearthataplanevanished.DebrisfromtheAirbus
A320200hasbeenfound,theairlinesaidTuesday,andtwobodies
havebeenfound.

updated7:29AMEST,WedDecember31,2014

Theinvestigationinvolves
recoveringthebodies,
accessingtheflightdata
recordersandmappingwhere
debrisisfoundtoreconstruct
itspath.

Theoneswhomissedtheflight
updated7:33AMEST,WedDecember31,2014

Somemaycallitserendipity,
othersdivineintervention.
Eitherway,circumstances
preventedtwofamiliesfrom
boardingthedoomedflight.

MalaysiaAirlinesFlight370vanished,too,andremainsmissing10
monthslater.

10questionsaboutthetragedy
updated11:28AMEST,TueDecember30,2014

Atthattime,JimHall,theformerheadoftheU.S.National
TransportationSafetyBoard,calledforupgradestothetracking
capabilitiesofplanesthatflyforextendedperiodsoverwater.
Theairlineindustryhasinvestedbillionsofdollarsinsafety
features,"yetmanyallowtheiraircrafttofalloffanydirecttracking
Tech Gadgets Cyber Security Innovation Nation
capabilityastheyflyovervastoceandistancesandremote
locations,confidentthattheseplaneswilloccasionallycheckinand
reappearastheyneartheothersideoftheblackedoutarea,"Hall
wrote.
InapreliminaryreportonMH370,Malaysianaviationauthorities
recommendedthattheInternationalCivilAviationOrganizationlook
intothebenefitsofintroducingastandardforrealtimetrackingof
commercialaircraft.
Thetechnologyexiststotrackflightdatainrealtime,butevenafter
tragediessuchasMH370,costandgovernmentbureaucracyare
citedasobstaclestoimplementation.

Thediscoveryofdebrismeans
investigatorshavetakenabig
steptowardansweringsome
keyquestions.

Familiesseevideowithoutwarning
U.S. Edition +
updated9:42PMEST,TueDecember30,2014

FlightQZ8501:Thepassengers
updated11:28AMEST,ThuJanuary1,2015

Afamily,veteranpilots,a
fianceandmore.Here'swhat
weknowsofaraboutsomeof
thepassengers.

"Millionsofuscanbelocatedimmediatelythroughtechnologyinour
handheldcellphones,buta300,000poundBoeing777with239
soulsonboarddisappearsfromthefaceoftheEarth,"Hallwrote,
referringtoMH370."NASAhasthecapabilityofphotographing
starsbillionsoflightyearsaway,andyetourbestmindsareforced
toguesswherethisplanemightbe."

Timelineoftheflight

AnotherTwitteruserphrasedthethoughtthisway:"Ifwehave
astronautsreachingsafelytheInternationalSpaceStation,whydo
westillhavemissingplanesonEarth?"

AirAsiadisaster'slastingeffects

.@CNNIfwehaveastronautsreachingsafelytheInternational
SpaceStationwhydowestillhavemissingplanesonearth?
#8501qs

Forfamiliesofsomepeopleon
boardAirAsiaFlightQZ8501,
thedevastatingimagescame
withoutwarning.

updated6:30AMEST,MonDecember29,2014

Timelineofeventsleadingup
tothedisappearanceofAirAsia
FlightQZ8501.

updated11:40AMEST,TueDecember30,2014

ProfessorAlanKheeJinTan
saysFlightQZ8501stirsfears
passengersmightlose
confidence,butAirAsiawill
weatherthisdifficultperiod.

AirtravelinAsiagrowingtooquickly?
updated10:07PMEST,TueDecember30,2014

JustAGirlWithADog(@MariaCuchicheo)December29,2014

CNNaviationanalystMarySchiavosaysitistimeforworldleaders
totakeconcreteactiononupgradingtechnologyfortrackingplanes.
Makingrecommendationsisn'tenough,shesaid.Thereneedtobe
laws.
"Ithinkatthisdayandage,there'sreallynoexcusefor(nothaving
realtimetracking),"SchiavosaidonCNN's"NewDay"onMonday.
"Imean,thekindoftechnology,it'salreadyhere.Wedon'thaveto
waittodevelopit.Thoseplanescouldbesendingoutcontinuous
signals."
Twocompanieswithproductsonthemarketforrealtime
streamingareFlyhtandStarNavigationSystems.
Butthetechnologyisnotcatchingonwithmajorcarriers.
Costhasbeenthebiggesthurdle,thoughthetechnology
isslowlyfindingitswayontoairplanes,saidSethKaplan,
managingpartneratAirlineWeekly.

Whattoknowaboutairturbulence

Airlineshavelobbiedforgovernmentstocontribute
moneytoequippingplaneswithnewtechnology,arguing
thatitisnotjustanairlineissue,butanationalsecurity
consideration.
HowdidweatheraffectAirAsiaflight?

Thequestionofwhowillpayforthetechnologyis
beginningtogetanswered,butnotasquicklyastravelers
wouldliketosee,Kaplansaid.

Safetyconcernssurrounding
boomingAsianairlinemarket
hasraisedquestionsaboutthe
AirAsiacrashandpilottraining.

Photos:AirAsiaFlightQZ8501found
updated8:44AMEST,ThuJanuary1,2015

Clickthroughourphotogallery
aswetrackthestoryof
missingFlightQZ8501.

RelativesofMH370victimsspeakout
updated12:30PMEST,TueDecember30,2014

Noonecanfathomtheagony
thatfamiliesofAirAsiaFlight
QZ8501aregoingthrough
exceptthefamiliesofMH370.

Missingplanes,airdisastersin2014
updated3:29PMEST,TueDecember30,2014

MH370.MH17.AirAlgerie
5017.AndnowAirAsiaFlight
QZ8501.Is2014theworst
yearinaviationhistory?

WhattoknowabouttheAirbusA320
updated9:32PMEST,MonDecember29,2014

So,thoseindisbeliefarenotaloneinwonderinghowintoday's
worldaplanecouldsimplygetlost.It'sjustnotaneasyquestionto
answer.

Muchhasbeensaidaboutthe
rivalrybetweenAirbusand
BoeingandtheAirbusA320
featuresprominentlyinthis.

Whatisablackboxanyway?
updated10:20AMEDT,ThuOctober2,2014

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