December 28, 2014
JAKARTA, INDONESIA – An AirAsia flight carrying 155 people from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore lost contact with air traffic control on Sunday, officials in the region and the budget carrier said.
December 28, 2014
JAKARTA, INDONESIA – An AirAsia flight carrying 155 people from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore lost contact with air traffic control on Sunday, officials in the region and the budget carrier said.
Missing AirAsia flight QZ8501 is similar to the jet seen here, a 9M-AQB model pictured on the track at Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) airport at Sepang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on November 19, 2013.
Flight QZ 8501, an Airbus 320-200, lost contact with the Jakarta air traffic control tower at 6:17 a.m. (2317 GMT), Indonesian Transport Ministry official Hadi Mustofa told media.
It had 155 passengers and crew on board, another Indonesian Transport official said.
Kuala Lumpur-based AirAsia confirmed its flight had lost contact with air traffic control and said a search-and-rescue operation had been launched.
Mustofa said the plane had asked for an unusual route before it lost contact.
Indonesian media said 149 Indonesians, three people from Korea, and one each from Singapore, Britain and Malaysia were on board.
Reuters reports that the aircraft was between the Indonesian port of Tanjung Pandan and the town of Pontianak, in West Kalimantan on Borneo island, when it went missing.
Last known location of Air Asia flight QZ8501, which went missing on December 28, 2014.
The plane was on the submitted flight plan route and flying at 32,000 feet, before it asked to fly at 38,000 feet to avoid clouds.
The captain in command had a total of 6,100 flying hours and the first officer a total of 2,275 flying hours, said AirAsia, adding that the jet underwent its last scheduled maintenance on 16 November 2014.
The Singapore air force and navy have offered help to Indonesian authorities and have put two C130s on standby.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong also commented on the situation on both Facebook and Twitter.
The flight had been due in Singapore at 8:30 a.m. Singapore time (0030 GMT). The Singapore airport said on its website the status of the flight was "delayed".
The incident comes at the end of a disastrous year for Malaysia's airlines.
National flag carrier Malaysia Airlines lost two aircraft this year.
Its flight MH370 went missing on March 8 on a trip from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 passengers and crew on board.
On July 17, 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.
Courtesy: Reuters
