REPORT - CNN
The
search is on for an AirAsia plane carrying 162 people that lost contact with
Indonesian air traffic control Sunday. Before communication was lost, AirAsia
Flight QZ 8501 asked to deviate from its planned flight route -- from the
Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore -- because of weather conditions,
AirAsia said in a statement.
There was
conflicting information about when exactly Flight 8501 went missing. AirAsia
said contact was lost at 7:24 a.m. Sunday (7:24 p.m. Saturday ET), but
Indonesian aviation authorities said it happened earlier, at 6:17 a.m. "At
this time, search and rescue operations are being conducted under the guidance
of the Indonesian Civil Aviation Authority," AirAsia said.Of the people on
board the Airbus A320-200, 156 are Indonesian, three are South Korean, one is
French, one is Malaysian and one is Singaporean, the airline said.
Seventeen
children, including one infant, are among the passengers, the carrier said.
Seven of the people on board are crew members."Thank you for all your
thoughts and prayers. we must stay strong," AirAsia Chief Executive Tony
Fernandes said on Twitter. He later announced he was traveling to Surabaya,
saying most of the passengers are from there.
As word
spread of the missing plane, the airline changed the color of its logo on its
social media accounts from red to gray.'Heavy thunderstorms' in area Flight
8501 "was requesting deviation due to en route weather before
communication with the aircraft was lost," the airline said. From flight
tracking websites, almost the entire flight path appears to be over the sea. Bad
weather was in evidence in the region at the time, CNN meteorologist Derek Van
Dam said. Missing AirAsia plane was on
common route AirAsia pilot requested to change route "We still had lines
of very heavy thunderstorms" when the plane was flying, Van Dam said.
"But keep in mind, turbulence doesn't necessarily bring down airplanes."
CNN aviation
analyst Mary Schiavo questioned whether weather would have been a factor in
what happened to the plane. "Ordinarily, the pilots would get the updated
weather from air traffic control and, of course, their onboard radar,"
said Schiavo, a former inspector general for the U.S. Department of
Transportation. "So whether there was (bad) weather in the area would not
be a mystery." AirAsia is a Malaysia-based airline that is popular in the
region as a budget carrier. It has about 100 destinations, with affiliate
companies in several Asian countries.
The missing
plane is operated by AirAsia's Indonesian affiliate, in which the Malaysian
company holds a 48.9% stake, according to its website. 'Very good' safety
reputation The Malaysian government said it was ready to offer assistance to
Indonesian and Singaporean authorities. "Very sad to hear that AirAsia
Indonesia QZ8501 is missing," Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on
Twitter. "My thoughts are with the families. Singapore said it has
activated its rescue and aviation agencies. AirAsia has a "very good"
reputation for safety, CNN aviation correspondent Richard Quest said. Flight
8501's captain has a total of 6,100 flying hours and the first officer a total
of 2,275 flying hours, the airline said. The plane's last scheduled maintenance
was on November 16, it said. The loss of contact with the AirAsia plane comes
nearly 10 months after the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which
dropped off radar over Southeast Asia on March 8 with 239 people on board.
The Malaysian
Airlines plane, a Boeing 777-200ER, lost contact with air traffic control over
the South China Sea between Malaysia and Vietnam. Searchers have yet to find
any debris from Flight 370, which officials believe crashed in the southern
Indian Ocean after veering dramatically off course. U.S. President Barack Obama
has been briefed about the missing AirAsia plane, White House spokesman Eric
Schultz said, adding that U.S. officials will continue to monitor the
situation.
Courtesy - CNN
Tags: Air Asia QZ 8501 Indonesia Singapore