AirAsia Flight 8501 — 2014 plane crash of an Indonesia AirAsia A320-216 into the Java Sea
The crash killed all 162 aboard and remains the only fatal accident in AirAsia's history as of 2026.
Key Facts
- Date of crash
- 28 December 2014
- Fatalities
- 162 people
- Bodies recovered
- 116 of 162
- Aircraft type
- Airbus A320-216
- Route
- Surabaya, Indonesia to Singapore
- Search operations ended
- March 2015
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
A non-critical malfunction in the rudder control system prompted the captain to perform a non-standard reset of the on-board flight control computers. Miscommunication between the two pilots compounded the problem, leading to loss of control over the aircraft.
On 28 December 2014, Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501, an Airbus A320 operating a scheduled service from Surabaya to Singapore, entered an uncontrolled stall and descended into the Java Sea, killing all 162 people on board.
Search and recovery operations continued until March 2015, by which time only 116 of the 162 victims had been found. The Indonesian KNKT released its findings in December 2015, and the crash prompted renewed scrutiny of crew coordination and non-standard maintenance procedures in aviation.