AirAsia Flight Missing En Route From Indonesia To Singapore

[Webster]

...tragic news coming out of Southeast Asia overnight....
Quoting CNN:

(CNN) -- [Breaking news update, posted at 12:51 a.m. ET]
Before communication was lost with AirAsia Flight 8501, the aircraft requested to deviate from the planned flight route due to weather, the airline said in a statement.
The plane was still under Indonesian air traffic control as it headed toward Singapore.

[Breaking news update, posted at 12:42 a.m. ET]
Missing AirAsia Flight 8501 is carrying 162 people: 155 passengers, two pilots and five cabin crew members, the airline said in a statement.
On board are 157 from Indonesia, three South Koreans, one Malaysian and one Singaporean.

[Original story, posted at 12:25 a.m. ET]
The search is on for AirAsia Flight 8501, which lost contact with air traffic control in Indonesia, the airline said Sunday. Flight QZ 8501 from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore lost contact with air traffic control at 7:24 a.m. Sunday (7:24 p.m. Saturday ET), AirAsia said.

"At the present time we unfortunately have no further information regarding the status of the passengers and crew members on board, but we will keep all parties informed as more information becomes available," AirAsia said in a statement.

The plane took off with 155 passengers and crew on board, the news agency Reuters reported, citing Indonesian transport officials. But the Associated Press, citing an Indonesian Transportation Ministry official, put the number of people at 162. The flight, an Airbus A320-200, was on its way from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore, according to the airline's website.

The plane left Juanda International Airport at 5:27 a.m. Sunday (5:27 p.m. Saturday ET) and was due to arrive in Singapore at 8:37 a.m. Sunday (7:37 p.m. ET), according to the website.
Bad weather might have been a factor in the plane's disappearance, CNN meteorologist Derek Van Dam said. "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."

But 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 subsidiaries in several Asian countries. The airline has a "very good" reputation for safety, CNN aviation correspondent Richard Quest 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.
Searchers are yet to find any debris from Flight 370, which officials believe crashed in the southern Indian Ocean. U.S. President Barack Obama has been briefed, White House spokesman Eric Schultz said, adding that American officials will continue to monitor the situation.

 

[Dee]

This is really no good and very, very sad. There are already unconfirmed reports of the wreckage being found east of an Island in Indonesia, but it hasn't been confirmed by the airliner just yet.

 

[identityissues8]

Reports must be remaining unconfirmed. As we're still yet to hear anything.
Horrid, horrid news.
I really hope it's nothing. As doubtful as that is.

 

[Dee]

Reports must be remaining unconfirmed. As we're still yet to hear anything.
Horrid, horrid news.
I really hope it's nothing. As doubtful as that is.

They've dispatched vessels to the location believed to be the crash area. We'll know in a few hours, if not within the next day, whether they found it or not. This is happening quite fast.

 

[identityissues8]

The search was called off for the night.
Not a good sign at all.

Still nothing of the unconfirmed reports of debris washing up at East Belitung.

 

[DrLeftover]

30 Dec

Bodies, debris from missing AirAsia plane pulled from sea off Indonesia

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/30/us-indonesia-airplane-idUSKBN0K601C20141230


Debris is missing plane:
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-30634081

 

[Enter Username Here]

Someones shooting down planes.

 

[DrLeftover]

Someones shooting down planes.

Must be those evil Jews.

Right, Ghost?

 

[Dee]

This is very sad news. They have located the plane as well as bodies that have been assumed to be floating for about two days. The only somewhat good thing is that they were able to find it to give their loved one's closure. Unlike MH370, which still has not been located yet after 9 months of having disappeared.

 

[DrLeftover]

The plane is in reasonably shallow water. They should be able to recover the recorders in short order, and, eventually, raise the plane.

 

[WHO IS SERAFIN]

Someones shooting down planes.

Must be those evil Jews.

Right, Ghost?

Damn straight. Those devils are everywhere disguised as Muslims to Indonesians for world chaos . If there is a disaster on this planet you know the Jews and there evil twisted plots had a hand in it. I have proof they were even involved in the plot to have my parents divorce when I was 6 years old.

 

[identityissues8]

So touching, and sad.
Some of the bodies floating in sea holding hands.

 

[Dee]

So touching, and sad.
Some of the bodies floating in sea holding hands.

From the news we've been hearing, I wonder what'll happen when they're able to get the plane out of the water. It sounds like at least one person was able to get their life jacket on, which makes me wonder if they had done that before they hit the water or after. I guess we'll figure it out when they get the black box out of the fuselage.

 

[identityissues8]

So touching, and sad.
Some of the bodies floating in sea holding hands.

From the news we've been hearing, I wonder what'll happen when they're able to get the plane out of the water.  It sounds like at least one person was able to get their life jacket on, which makes me wonder if they had done that before they hit the water or after.  I guess we'll figure it out when they get the black box out of the fuselage.

Interesting thought.
Are you suggesting people may have escaped the plane on their own after it 'crash landed' on water? It's not impossible, I guess, but don't they have life boats?

Even someone on MH17 that was shot down managed to get the oxygen mask around their neck.

 

[Dee]

So touching, and sad.
Some of the bodies floating in sea holding hands.

From the news we've been hearing, I wonder what'll happen when they're able to get the plane out of the water.  It sounds like at least one person was able to get their life jacket on, which makes me wonder if they had done that before they hit the water or after.  I guess we'll figure it out when they get the black box out of the fuselage.

Interesting thought.
Are you suggesting people may have escaped the plane on their own after it 'crash landed' on water? It's not impossible, I guess, but don't they have life boats?

Even someone on MH17 that was shot down managed to get the oxygen mask around their neck.

A member of the rescue teams said they found one of the emergency evacuation slides floating in the water. It's very possible it came out upon landing, but it could've happened if they did crash and the plane was still floating (but now at the bottom of the Java sea). I know it's just speculation right now, but it would be interesting to try and determine whether or not people survived the initial crash.