Plane dissappears with 162 on board ... AirAsia flight QZ8501 is missing

Flight from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore lost contact with air traffic control on Saturday

No wreckage found'

Indonesian navy officials have told the BBC that no wreckage has been found so far, as the search and rescue operation focuses on an area between the Indonesian island of Belitung and Borneo.

Weather conditions in the area are reportedly still poor.

Tearful relatives gather at airports

The tearful relatives of those on board the missing flight are continuing to gather at the airports in Indonesia and in Singapore as they wait to hear what has happened.

AirAsia's CEO Tony Fernandes says: "My only thought are with the passengers and my crew. We put our hope in the SAR operation and thank the Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysian governments."

More Updates ... http://www.thejournal.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/missing-airasia-flight-qz8501-latest-8350674

Rescue crews are searching Indonesian waters for AirAsia Indonesia Flight 8501, which disappeared Sunday with 162 passengers and crew onboard. The plane was flying from Surabaya, Indonesia’s second-largest city, and was about halfway to its destination, Singapore, when it vanished from radar.

Q: What could have happened here?

A: It is way too early to know for sure, but here are some options. The plane was in the safest part of flight — just 10 percent of fatal crashes from 2004 through 2013 occurred while a plane was at cruise elevation, according to a safety study published by Boeing in August.

Passing through bad weather such as severe thunderstorms could have been a factor. Airbus jets have sophisticated computers that automatically adjust to wind shears or other weather disruptions. However, weather — combined with pilot errors — has played a role in past air disasters that occurred at cruise elevation, including the 2009 Air France Flight 447 crash over the Atlantic Ocean.

Another possibility is some type of catastrophic metal fatigue caused by the cycle of pressurization and depressurization associated with each takeoff and landing cycle. This A320 had 23,000 flight hours and 13,600 takeoffs and landings. Many occurred in humid climate, which speeds corrosion. Still, metal fatigue is unlikely because this plane is only 6 years old.

Finally, there is the chance of terrorism or a mass murder by the pilot. There’s no evidence of either action at this point, but neither can yet be ruled out.

Q: What did the pilots say to air traffic controllers?

A: The last communication between the pilot and air traffic control was at 6:13 a.m. Sunday (6:13 p.m. EST Saturday) when the pilot “asked to avoid clouds by turning left and going higher to 34,000 feet (10,360 meters).” The last radar contact occurred three minutes later. There was no distress call, but pilots are trained to focus first on the emergency at hand and then communicate only when free.

WashingtonPost