--- description: The plane reportedly climbed at 6,000 ft. per minute before stalling title: AirAsia Flight 8501 Climbed Too Fast, Officials Say image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt98ed52a2dbd67f12/698779d00b72e390b06dd1d5/air-asia-fuselage.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [indonesia](/tag/indonesia/) ## indonesia Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # AirAsia Flight 8501 Climbed 'Beyond Normal' Speed, Officials Say ## Video: AirAsia QZ8501: Four Large Objects Found On Sea Floor [Watch (HLS stream): AirAsia QZ8501: Four Large Objects Found On Sea Floor](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/0zj67tXY.m3u8) (0:59)  _Published 2015-01-03. Search and rescue teams believe four large objects found on the Java Sea floor are the wreckage of AirAsia flight QZ8501._ by [Rachel Janik](/author/rachel-janik/) ## Rachel Janik Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 20, 2015 3:46 PM CUT  AirAsia aircraft tail is recovered from the Java Sea on Jan. 12, 2015, in Pangkalan Bun, Indonesia AirAsia aircraft tail is recovered from the Java Sea on Jan. 12, 2015, in Pangkalan Bun, IndonesiaDenny Pohan—Demotix/Corbis by [Rachel Janik](/author/rachel-janik/) ## Rachel Janik Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 20, 2015 3:46 PM CUT An airplane that crashed in Indonesia late December was climbing at “beyond normal” speed before it pitched into the Java Sea, the country’s Transportation Minister said Tuesday. Ignasius Jonan told a hearing into the AirAsia Flight 8501 crash that the plane stalled after climbing at 6,000 ft. per minute — faster than a fighter jet, the Jakarta _Post_ [reports](http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/01/20/airasia-flight-qz8501-climbed-6000-ft-minute-crashing.html "undefined"). A total of 162 passengers and crew are believed dead. “The average speed of a commercial aircraft is probably between 1,000 and 2,000 ft. per minute, because the aircraft is not designed to soar so fast,” he said. The update comes a week after the recovery of the plane’s “[black boxes](http://www.time.com/3663278/airasia-qz8501black-box-flight-recorder-found/ "undefined"),” a flight-data recorder and [cockpit-voice recorder](http://www.time.com/3665046/divers-retrieve-2nd-black-box-from-airasia-crash/ "undefined"). Investigators have ruled out terrorism after reviewing the black boxes and are considering human error, technical malfunction and inclement weather as possible causes for the steep climb and the crash. \[[_Jakarta Post_](http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/01/20/airasia-flight-qz8501-climbed-6000-ft-minute-crashing.html "undefined")\] _Read next:_ [_Search Crews Locate Missing AirAsia Flight’s Fuselage_](http://time.com/3667336/airasia-flight-8501-fuselage-found/?xid=time%5Freadnext "undefined") [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3674399/airasia-flight-8501-beyond-normal/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3674399/airasia-flight-8501-beyond-normal/"},"headline":"AirAsia Flight 8501 Climbed 'Beyond Normal' Speed, Officials Say","datePublished":"2015-01-20T15:46:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:42:20.820Z","description":"The plane reportedly climbed at 6,000 ft. per minute before stalling","url":"https://time.com/3674399/airasia-flight-8501-beyond-normal/","keywords":["indonesia","Aviation"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt98ed52a2dbd67f12/698779d00b72e390b06dd1d5/air-asia-fuselage.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rachel Janik","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rachel-janik/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt98ed52a2dbd67f12/698779d00b72e390b06dd1d5/air-asia-fuselage.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"AirAsia aircraft tail storage is recovered","caption":"AirAsia aircraft tail storage is recovered","creditText":"Denny Pohan—Demotix/Corbis","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/indonesia/","name":"indonesia"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3674399/airasia-flight-8501-beyond-normal/","name":"AirAsia Flight 8501 Climbed 'Beyond Normal' Speed, Officials Say"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"AirAsia QZ8501: Four Large Objects Found On Sea Floor","description":"Search and rescue teams believe four large objects found on the Java Sea floor are the wreckage of AirAsia flight QZ8501.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/0zj67tXY/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-01-03T16:38:31.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/0zj67tXY.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3674399/airasia-flight-8501-beyond-normal/","duration":"PT59S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3674399/airasia-flight-8501-beyond-normal/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```