What’s still not known about AirAsia jet and why it crashed

A U.S. Navy helicopter approaches to land following their search operation for the victims of AirAsia Flight 8501at the airport in Pangkalan Bun, Indonesia, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2015. The search operation for AirAsia Flight 8501 will spread slightly eastward on Tuesday as the weather and currents drag wreckage in that direction, the head of Indonesia's rescue agency said. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim) A U.S. Navy helicopter approaches to land following their search operation for the victims of AirAsia Flight 8501at the airport in Pangkalan Bun, Indonesia, Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2015. The search operation for AirAsia Flight 8501 will spread slightly eastward on Tuesday as the weather and currents drag wreckage in that direction, the head of Indonesia's rescue agency said. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

By Associated Press January 6, 2015 2 min read

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) – AirAsia Flight 8501 crashed into the Java Sea with 162 people on board, halfway into a Dec. 28 flight from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore. Dozens of bodies have been recovered, and search teams have detected what is believed to be the plane’s wreckage, but many questions remain unanswered. Here are some of them:

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WHAT CAUSED THE PLANE TO GO DOWN?

The pilot told air traffic control that he was approaching threatening clouds and asked to climb above them, from 9,750 meters (32,000 feet) to 11,580 meters (38,000 feet). But with six other planes in the same airspace, permission was denied. When the tower tried to make contact four minutes later, there was no response, and the Airbus A320 was gone from the radar. The investigation will hinge on the discovery of the black boxes and the wreckage itself.

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