Originally Posted by
Toruk Macto
He requested FL380 and diversion , he got diversion but told to maintain FL . He was then cleared to FL340. He would have heard other diverting traffic and he would have had TCAS traffic also so we can assume he was keen to only climb to cleared level . Now if he was at FL363 he was not in control at that point . If what I've read so far is correct .
I bet they were already climbing before the FL340 clearance was issued. The fact that ATC never got a response tells me QZ8501 never heard the clearance and they were already out of control.
What time was the FL363 screenshot taken?
Here are two examples of the timeline as reported by two sources:
06:12 QZ8501 requests left deviation from airway. Deviation approved.
Pilot then requests climb from FL320 to FL380
ATC asks pilot to standby, due to nearby traffic and to coordinate with next air traffic control sector (Singapore)
06:14 ATC calls QZ8501 to approve partial climb to FL340
No response received after 2 or 3 further attempts to contact
ATC requests help from nearby aircraft to contact QZ8501
06:16 ATC still cannot reach QZ8501
Aircraft still observed on radar screen
06:17 Radar contact lost
Last reported altitude: FL290
06:12L QZ8501 requests Wx deviation and climb to FL380 (deviation granted by ATC)
06:14L ATC issues clearance to FL340 (no response)
06:16L Still in radar contact
06:17L ADS-B contact only
06:18L No transponder (disappears from radar screen)