Chinese Blogger Warned of Pending AirAsia Disaster

13 Days before plane disappeared, blogger claimed 'black hands' targeted Malaysia airlines

An AirAsia flight taxis on the tarmac after landing at at Changi international airport in Singapore on Dec. 29, 2014. A Chinese blogger warned almost two weeks before AirAsia flight QZ8501 went missing on Dec. 28 that disaster would strike Malaysian aielines, including AirAsia. Mohd Fyrol/AFP/Getty Images

A Chinese netizen posted a flurry of warnings from Dec. 15 to 17, saying not to take flights on Malaysia Airlines or AirAsia. The user wrote in Chinese, “Lives are at stake. Please pay attention.”

The comments, posted on Tianya Club, one of China’s top Internet forums, received little attention until 13 days later on Dec. 28, when AirAsia flight QZ8501 went missing with 162 passengers. The plane lost contact with the control tower in Jakarta at 7:17 a.m. Beijing time.

The netizen, who used the name “Citizens Have Their Own Joy” (which is much shorter in Chinese), did not comment again after the plane went missing, yet discussion has since lit up around the netizen’s claims. The post now has 103 pages of comments and has been viewed more than 2.5 million times.

The netizen spread the warnings across 39 posts, claiming that an international criminal organization is targeting Malaysian airline companies.