Indonesian smugglers stuff yellow-crested cockatoos into plastic bottles to get past customs

Indonesian smugglers crammed over two dozen yellow-crested cockatoos into empty plastic bottles so they could get through customs at Port of Tanjung Perak in Surabaya. These birds belong to the endangered species and the authorities apprehended them and set them free.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 4 May 2015.

The birds were meant for illegal trade and, the Indonesian Police discovered the birds. They can fetch as much as £650 each. The birds were set free for medical attention.
These yellow-crested cockatoo is listed as a critically endangered species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources in 2007. The population of these birds is low due to deforestation and poaching and, as per recent studies, there are less than 7,000 of them remaining.
Yellow-crested cockatoos breed very slowly and lay eggs only once a year and can range in size from 12 inch to about 27inch in length. The color of the body is white but they sport a beautiful yellow crest.
Incidentally, trade in birds like parrots, including Lories and Cockatoos, is a lucrative business and every year, around 10,000 of them are caught from the wild in North Halmahera, Indonesia, and supplied to the domestic markets and the international illegal wildlife trade.

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AirAsia flight QZ8501 – one black box recovered, second box located

#AirAsia #QZ8501 #BoeingAirbus #flightdatarecorder The latest news about AirAsia flight QZ8501 is that sixteen days after the Boeing Airbus-A320 crashed in the Java Sea, Indonesian Navy divers have successfully retrieved one of the black boxes of the crashed plane.
The second black box or cockpit voice recorder has also been located inside the wreckage and efforts are on to retrieve this also – it is still stuck in the plane debris.
These orange colored flight data recorder or cockpit voice recorder would come as a major breakthrough in the multinational search in which the teams had to, at times, weather the rough seas and zero visibility – the orange colored black box is believed to be holding vital clues about the last moments before the plane's crash.
The flight had 162 people on board and, so far, only 48 bodies have been recovered, at least two of them still strapped to seat belts. Majority of passengers we Indonesians. The ill-fated Flight QZ8501 had gone off the radars just after 42 minutes after taking off of taking off and was on a trip to Singapore from Surabaya.
The pilot of the Airbus had made a request to climb to 38,000 feet to avoid stormy clouds but permission was not granted because there was another plane in that route.

Startling new facts emerge on AirAsia Flight QZ8501 – it did not have permission to fly

#AirAsia #FlightQZ8501 #BoeingA320200 #JavaSea It has now been revealed that AirAsia did not have permission to operate on the Surabaya and Singapore route on Sundays – hence, Flight QZ8501 was an unauthorized one and could be banned from offering flights in Indonesia. The Flight QZ8501 had crashed into the Java Sea.
Moreover, AirAsia also faces allegations that the pilot of the Boeing Airbus A320-200 did not ask for a weather report from meteorologists before take-off, amid concerns that the Airbus A320 went down in stormy conditions. It is reported that Indonesia's transport ministry has suspended all AirAsia flights between Surabaya and Singapore.
To make matters worse, the other schedules of this budget airline are also under investigation, as it was not permitted to make this journey on Sundays. Underwater remote operating vehicles have tried to capture images of the debris that includes four large items.
There are no survivors of the ill-fated Flight QZ8501, which had 162 people on board and, the crucial black boxes are yet to be located – data captured in these boxes could reveal what happened in the last few minutes of the plane.
The pilot of the Boeing had 6,100 flying hours on the A320 and had asked for permission to ascend to 38,000ft before contact was lost with air traffic control. Radar data tends to indicate that the plane had made an "unbelievably" steep climb before it crashed, probably due to stalling.

Missing AirAsia Flight 8501 - US sending destroyer to join search operations

#AirAsia #Flight 8501 #JavaSea #Airbus #USSSampson AirAsia Flight 8501, an Airbus A320-200 with 162 people on board vanished after seeking permission to climb above threatening clouds – permission was denied and possibilities of the Boeing crashing into the Java Sea cannot be ruled out especially when there are reports of oil slicks having been noticed.
It seems one of the pilots had sought permission to climb from 32,000 feet (9,754 meters) to 38,000 feet (11,582 meters) because of the weather. It was a two-hour journey from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore.
A U.S. destroyer is therefore on its way to the Java Sea to join the search for the AirAsia jet that was on a scheduled flight from Indonesia to Singapore over the weekend.
The 7th Fleet has revealed that the USS Sampson, which was already on an independent deployment in the Western Pacific, has been asked to proceed to the scene.
The probable location based on the plane's last known coordinates appears that the aircraft "is at the bottom of the sea" – this has been informed by Indonesia search-and-rescue chief Henry Bambang Soelistyo. However, searchers have plans to expand their efforts to the land as well.
Already nearly 30 ships, 15 aircraft and seven helicopters were looking for the jet and majority of the crafts were Indonesian but Singapore, Malaysia and Australia are also contributing to the effort. Aircraft from Thailand is also expected to join the search.

Year-end panic as AirAsia A320-200 with 162 on board goes missing

#A320200 #AirAsia #Indonesia #Singapore #MH370 An Airbus A320-200 of AirAsia en-route from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore with 162 people aboard lost contact with air traffic control about an hour before it was to land and is missing. The crew included two pilots, four flight attendants and one engineer. This has been confirmed by officials of AirAsia Indonesia.
The crew of the Airbus A320-200 It was the Flight QZ8501 that took off from Juanda International Airport and lost contact with air traffic control at about shortly before it was to land at Singapore.
As revealed by Djoko Murjatmodjo, Indonesia's acting director general of transportation, the pilot of the plane lost contact with the air traffic control shortly after the pilot asked to avoid a cloud bank by turning left and going higher to 34,000 feet.
There was no distress signal from Flight QZ8501 - the distance between Surabaya and Singapore is about 860 miles and the contact was lost about 42 minutes after takeoff from Surabaya airport. It seems at that time, the plane was believed to be over the Java Sea between Kalimantan and Java islands. The weather in the area was cloudy.
The plane was carrying 155 passengers, including 138 adults, 16 children and an infant and most of them were Indonesian nationals. However, there also were one passenger each from Singapore, Malaysia and France and three from South Korea. This is another mysterious disappearance of a flight similar to the Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 which went missing shortly after takeoff from Kuala Lumpur.