-Vintage Canuck- Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 AirAsia flight from Indonesia to Singapore loses contact with air traffic control with 162 on board: An AirAsia flight bound to Singapore from Indonesia with 162 people on board disappeared from air traffic radar early Sunday, sending authorities scrambling to locate its whereabouts and marking a new milestone in a grim year for air travel. The airline said early Sunday that search and rescue operations underway for the flight, Indonesia AirAsia QZ8501. The Airbus A320-200 departed the Indonesian city of Surabaya around 5:30 a.m. local time. Air controllers lost contact with the plane at around 6:17 am local time, in what was typically a two hour flight. There were 162 people on board the flight, including seven crew members. The overwhelming bulk of those on board were Indonesian, with a mix of nationalities from South Korea, Singapore and Europe, according to AirAsia. The plane's disappearance became the third missing plane linked to Malaysia this year, and capped a string of commercial air disasters this year. With search efforts hindered by poor weather conditions, Indonesian vice-president Jusuf Kalla told news agencies that after 10 hours the search for the aircraft had found no wreckage. As heartbroken relatives and friends awaited word on the fate of the passengers, they were consoled by Indonesian officials and representatives. Sunu Widyatmoko, CEO of AirAsia Indonesia said in a statement that AirAsia was "deeply shocked and saddened by this incident. We are cooperating with the relevant authorities to the fullest extent to determine the cause of this incident. In the meantime, our main priority is keeping the families of our passengers and colleagues informed on the latest developments." The CEO added that a briefing center was being created in Surabaya for the families, but specifically requested that media not use the hotline, as it was being reserved for relatives. "We will release further information as soon as it becomes available and our thoughts and prayers are with those on board QZ8501," Widyatmoko said. On Sunday, the government of Singapore announced it would send vessels to assist in the search. Air and sea search underway The aircraft was in the Indonesian Flight Information Region (FIR) when contact was lost around 200 nautical miles southeast of the Singapore-Jakarta FIR boundary, Singapore's Civil Aviation Authority said in a statement. Singapore has activated multiple agencies, including its air force and navy, to help Indonesian authorities with the search, the authority said. Singapore launched one C130 aircraft for the search on the request of Indonesia, the authority said. Malaysia's transport minister said that country deployed three vessels and one plane, according to a Dow Jones report. Indonesian Transport Ministry official Hadi Mustofa said the plane asked for an unusual route before it lost contact, according to a Reuters report. The aircraft was on its planned route and was requesting deviation due to weather before communication was lost, AirAsia said in a statement. No distress signal was sent, Joko Muryo Atmodjo, air transportation director at Indonesia's transport ministry, told Reuters. Singapore is in the midst of its wet season and neighboring Malaysia has seen flooding due to heavy rains, with local media reports saying more than 160,000 people have been evacuated from hard-hit areas.Relatives wait for news Forty-seven friends and relatives of 57 passengers waiting for the flight at Singapore's Changi Airport were being looked after by airport staff and trained counselors, according to a statement from the airport. Indonesia AirAsia is a 49 percent owned affiliate of Malaysia-based AirAsia. The remainder is held by Indonesian investors. International investigation The AirAsia aircraft, is owned by the German aircraft lessor Doric, was delivered to its operator in 2008 and had recorded 23,000 flight hours on 13,600 flights, manufacturer Airbus said in a statement seen by Reuters. Airbus provided no other details regarding the incident or the aircraft. The manufacturer said it would provide full assistance to investigations, including one by the French authority BEA which gets involved in such events because Airbus is France-based. The aircraft's engines were made by French-American venture CFM International, co-owned by General Electric and Safran, meaning the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board could also be accredited to take part in any investigation. The Washington-based NTSB was not available for immediate comment, Reuters reported. Deadly year for aviation If all passengers are confirmed lost, this would be the second-deadliest accident ever involving an A320, according to the Aviation Safety Network, a widely cited Dutch database. It would also take the 2014 air fatality count over 600, making it the deadliest year for aviation since 2010. Malaysian Airlines endured two devastating incidents this year. The first was Flight MH370, which disappeared nine months ago, after leaving Kuala Lumpur for Bejing. It carried 239 people, and it's fate is still unknown and shrouded in mystery. Australian authorities continue to search for the plane's wreckage off its coastline. http://www.cnbc.com/id/102297363 Statement from Air Asia on lost contact with Flight: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostsof1915 Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Oh man.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crackers Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Oh dear, thats unfortunate to say the least. Now queue CNN's 24 hour live coverage for the next two months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tystick Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Again... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brick Tamland Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 North Korea? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Marchand Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 AirAsia is based in Malaysia. Hard to believe the horrible luck their airline industry is having this year. Hoping they do find it with everyone safe, but I won't lie when I say I'm not feeling too optimistic here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derp... Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 I've flown air asia a few times, pretty respectable budget airline in south east asia. Scary to say the least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuck nit Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 It has been six hours now without contact so it's gone.Many people lost. RIPHard to believe the Malaysian Airline industry have lost 3 planes in such a short period of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2SKATES1STICK Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 WHERE'S THE PLANE, WOLF?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuck nit Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 162 on board,mainly Indonesians.Search and rescue is now enacted.Air Asia has set up emergency centers for family members at both Surabaya and Singapore airports. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jovocop55 Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 with the technology today, unbelievable we can't have gps or something that can track where every plane is.. $10k worth Chevy car has tracking system that an owner can find the whereabout of the automobile but million-dollar worth planes do not have such basic device Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nuck nit Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 They know the general area but it is out near Kalimantan in the open sea and it was rough out there today.The pilot requested a change in altitude due to weather and shortly thereafter the plan lost contact. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special Ed Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Damn that is not good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tortorella's Rant Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 All seriousness if this doesn't turn up again, I don't like to play the conspiracy card, but this can't be just a coincidence. Objects of this size and magnitude and in this day and age just don't vanish without deliberate intent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tortorella's Rant Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 Wow, 6 hours missing already.. Expect the worst. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desiboynux4lifee******* Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 How soon did we forget about the recent flight. Something shady is going on, go ahead call me a conspiracy theorist! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tortorella's Rant Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 How soon did we forget about the recent flight. Something shady is going on, go ahead call me a conspiracy theorist! If this one doesn't turn up either I'm right with you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special Ed Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 According to a pilot I know it all started with Asiana Airlines Flight 214. This guy says he was there when flight 214 crashed as well. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asiana_Airlines_Flight_214 This person I know ( not closely mind you, but he's a life long pilot. Worked in china and now for American Airlines ) he told me that for some reason asian captains/pilots are prone to piloting errors. That he has seen many and that most of the flights in Asia use western trained captains. He actually predicted after the 214 crash when I spoke to him, that there would be more asian airline crashes since that one ( due to pilot errors and that the captain/pilots would be asian ) Call it what you want I'm just passing on his opinion and I don't think its racist if that's what he's seeing. Perhaps a training issue I'm not sure. But he pretty much called the last couple crashes it seems . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mathew Barzal Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 This is ridiculous. I don't have a clur about how plane tracking works but aren't sattelites capable of monitoring these things 24/7? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobble Posted December 28, 2014 Share Posted December 28, 2014 I took a number of their flights this past spring. Scary stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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