The search for missing AirAsia Indonesia flight QZ8501 has resumed, a day after it vanished en route to Singapore from Surabaya with 162 people on board.
Yesterday morning, the Airbus A320-200 disappeared over the Java Sea. The last contact was 06:24 hours local time.
There were nationals from Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea and Singapore on board.
The pilots had requested a route change due to bad weather but did not send any distress calls before the plane disappeared from radar screens.
The main search plans and vessels from a few nations continued the hunt this early morning.
Currently, the Indonesian transport ministry is working with relevant departments and countries to find the plane, including the aircraft manufacturer from France, operational teams from AirAsia and Malaysia, Singapore and Australia.
The search area is near Belitung island.
Flight QZ8501 departed Surabaya at 05:35 local time on Sunday and was due to arrive in Singapore at 08:30.
At the time the plane lost contact, dense storm clouds were reported in the area. Following that, the pilot had asked permission to climb to 38,000ft to avoid the clouds.
Before the request could be immediately approved, the plane disappeared from the radar screens.
AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes highlighted that their concern right now is for the relatives and next of kin of those on board the plane.
The AirAsia Indonesia plane has flown 13,600 times, completing 23,000 hours, and it underwent its scheduled maintenance on 16 November.
AirAsia has set up an emergency line for family or friends of those affected. Do contact +622 129 850 801.
This has definitely been a difficult year for aviation in Asia following the Malaysian Airlines MH370 and MH17 incidents.
Flight MH370 disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March with 239 passengers and crew. MH17 was show down over Ukraine in July, killing all 298 people on board.
We’ll keep you updated.
