Search under way for missing Malaysian plane

Deja vu....

http://news.sky.com/story/1398597/search-under-way-for-missing-airasia-plane

Search Under Way For Missing AirAsia Plane
A flight carrying 162 people - including a British national - loses contact with air traffic controllers.

An AirAsia flight carrying 162 people from Indonesia to Singapore has lost contact with air traffic controllers.

Indonesian Transport Ministry official Hadi Mustofa said Flight QZ8501 stopped communicating with the Jakarta air traffic control tower at 7.24am local time. One of those on board is a British national.

He said the plane had asked for an unusual route before contact was lost with Indonesia's Juanda International Airport in Surabaya.

The flight was expected to arrive in Singapore at 8.30am local time (12.30am UK time).




An AirAsia statement said there are 155 passengers on board; 138 adults, 16 children and one infant. Also on board are two pilots and five crew members.

Most of those on board - 156 - are from Indonesia, with three from South Korea, and one each from France, Malaysia and Singapore, according to the airline.

However, the Foreign Office says one British national is on board, and their next of kin have been informed.

According to air traffic control website Flight Radar, the aircraft was travelling at 32,000-feet over the Java Sea when contact was lost.

Pilot Rakam Singh told Sky News: "As you climb higher the temperature gets lower ... if you hit turbulence you've got more chance of stalling an aircraft if you hit this kind of weather."

He said the chances of carrying out a safe landing after that were low.

A statement on Malaysia based AirAsia's Facebook page said: "AirAsia Indonesia regrets to confirm that Flight QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore has lost contact with air traffic control at 07.24hrs this morning.

"The aircraft was an Airbus A320-200 with the registration number PK-AXC. At this time, search and rescue operations are in progress and AirAsia is cooperating fully and assisting the rescue service."

The airline has set up an emergency call centre for family or friends of those who may have been on board the aircraft.

AirAsia co-founder and director Tony Fernandes, who is also chairman of QPR football club and founded UK-based F1 team Caterham, tweeted a short statement saying: "My only thoughts are with the passengers and my crew.

"We put our hope in the SAR operation and thank the Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysian governments."

He added: "On my way to Surabaya where most of the passengers are from as with my Indonesian management. Providing information as we get it."

The incident comes at the end of a difficult year for Malaysia's airlines. National flag carrier Malaysia Airlines lost two aircraft this year.

Flight MH370 went missing on 8 March on a trip from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 passengers and crew on board.

n 17 July, Flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board.

:: Relatives or friends of those aboard the plane can contact the AirAsia hotline on: +62 212 985 0801.

AirAsia has a 100% safety record. LL

It did, not unlike Malaysian Airlines....someone really has it in for that nation. It will be NO comfort whatsoever to the relatives of the dead, but so far, this one looks like a weather-related accident, and nothing peculiar.

I must confess, I thought I'd fallen through a hole in time or something when I turned the news on this AM, before I was properly awake.

It does appear to be a severe weather issue. Bless them all......

No news, unfortunately:

http://news.sky.com/story/1398597/search-for-missing-plane-to-resume-at-daybreak

I absolutely pray that this doesn't turn into another mystery, with no answers and no closure.

Agony for those waiting to hear. So sorry......

Still no news, but fortunately, one of the Fox airheads has it all sussed:

A Fox News host has drawn the ire of the internet after speculating on air what could have caused the disappearance of AsiaAir Flight QZ8501.
The flight from Surabaya, Indonesia to Singapore went missing early this morning over the Java Sea, shortly after the pilot asked for a change in altitude due to severe weather.
Fox News co-host Anna Kooiman interviewed former FAA spokesperson Scott Brenner about the search for the missing flight Sunday morning, asking the airline industry insider whether foreign pilots were at a disadvantage since they were trained using the metric system.
'Even when we think about temperature, it's Fahrenheit or Celsius,' Kooiman said. 'It's kilometers or miles. You know, everything about their training could be similar, but different.'


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2889354/Fox-News-host-denounced-speculating-AsiaAir-flight-missing-foreign-pilots-use-metric-system.html#ixzz3NHwKS9GZ
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Now, I don't actually mind Fox, I know what its bias is. But I never cease to be amazed by the succession of hair-tossing, high-heeled bimbos on it that pronounce on serious matters, when they really should be talking about shoes or something.

I assume they decorate the screen for the benefit of male viewers, not for their intellectual insight?

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/29/us-indonesia-airplane-idUSKBN0K601C20141229

(Reuters) - A missing AirAsia jet carrying 162 people could be at the bottom of the sea after it was presumed to have crashed off the Indonesian coast, an official said on Monday, as countries around Asia sent ships and planes to help in the search.

The Indonesia AirAsia plane, an Airbus A320-200, disappeared after its pilot failed to get permission to fly higher to avoid bad weather during a flight from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore on Sunday.

Flight QZ8501 did not issue a distress signal and disappeared over the Java Sea five minutes after requesting the change of course, which was refused because of heavy air traffic, officials said. - more at link.

Please, not this again, planes can't just vanish. Wreckage from the Air France disaster was found floating in the Atlantic fairly quickly, it was the black boxes, etc., which were on the ocean bed.

They will find it. We know the last communication was with ATC requesting permission to fly higher. It was not allowed, apparently, because another plane was in the space it would be going through.......

Debris found.   http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/indonesia/11317011/Watch-Debris-found-in-search-for-missing-AirAsia-plane.html

AirAsia QZ8501: Forty bodies found in missing plane search
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-30630330

More news now:

http://news.sky.com/story/1399627/bodies-found-in-airasia-missing-plane-search

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At least 40 bodies and wreckage including a plane door and oxygen tanks have been recovered in the search for missing AirAsia Flight QZ8501.

The bodies - which were not wearing life jackets - have been brought on board a navy ship, said Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Director SB Supriyadi.

Local television broadcast pictures of the bodies floating in the sea.....more at link.



There isn't really anything comforting to be said about this; the only tiny crumb is that at least these families will be able to hold funerals and mourn their loved ones. They won't be in limbo forever more, like the MH370 families.

Not that that will be helping right now.

This is such sad news but agree with you, Bonny.

Latest, 7 bodies found, one with lifejacket, one wearing flight attendant uniform.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/airasia-plane-body-count-rises-choppy-weather-hinders-rescue-1420010679

http://news.sky.com/story/1399986/bodies-returned-as-bad-weather-hits-recovery


One of the bodies was wearing a life jacket, suggesting the crew may have had time to prepare passengers for crashing into the sea.

That doesn't bear thinking about.

bb1 wrote:http://news.sky.com/story/1399986/bodies-returned-as-bad-weather-hits-recovery


One of the bodies was wearing a life jacket, suggesting the crew may have had time to prepare passengers for crashing into the sea.

That doesn't bear thinking about.

My sentiments exactly.

I agree with comments above written.

http://news.sky.com/story/1405440/airasia-planes-tail-recovered-from-java-sea

AirAsia Plane's Tail Recovered From Java Sea
Investigators searching for black boxes from the crashed AirAsia plane lift the tail portion out of the Java Sea.

Search teams looking for wreckage from the crashed AirAsia flight QZ8501 have pulled the tail section from the sea - but it is not clear if the black box recorders are inside.

TV footage showed a part of the tail being lifted on to a ship, two weeks ago after the plane went down in the Java Sea, killing all 162 people on board.

The Airbus jet went missing in stormy weather on 28 December as it flew from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore.

The tail was found in the seabed 30m (100 feet) below the surface and was lifted on to a ship using giant floating balloons and a crane.

Navy spokesman Manahan Simorangkir said: "We have lifted the tail on to the ship. It's red and white and a big part of the AirAsia logo can be seen."

More at link.



The only tiny crumb of comfort for the grieving relatives must be that at least they will have some kind of closure, and be able to mourn the loss of their loved ones.

True, Bonny, unlike that other one that is still missing.

big true:

"The only tiny crumb of comfort for the grieving relatives must be that at least they will have some kind of closure, and be able to mourn the loss of their loved ones.

True, Bonny, unlike that other one that is still missing."