LATEST REPORT: Relatives of passengers on AirAsia flight QZ8501 began crying hysterically and fainting on Tuesday as Indonesian television footage showed a body floating in the sea during aerial searches for the plane.
At least two distraught family members were carried out on stretchers from the room where they had been waiting for news in Surabaya, Indonesia's second largest city -- the take-off point for the aircraft that disappeared during a storm on Sunday.
"My heart will be totally crushed if it's true. I will lose a son," 60-year-old Dwijanto, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, told AFP.
Government security officials carry a family member of passengers onboard AirAsia flight QZ8501 after she collapsed at a waiting area in Juanda International Airport, Surabaya, December 30, 2014. (Reuters)
More than 48 hours after the Airbus A320-200 lost contact carrying 162 people to Singapore, aerial searchers spotted items in the Java Sea which officials said were from the plane.
As the first body was shown floating in the water on rolling television news, relatives burst into tears and hugged one another amid cries for more ambulances, said an AFP reporter at the scene.
One man covered his face and had to be held up by two other men before he fainted and was taken out by stretcher. Another woman was screaming and crying as she was supported by the mayor of Surabaya.
A female AirAsia officer shouted at the television media for showing footage of a floating body, while about 200 journalists were barred from the room holding the families, the windows of which were boarded up.
"Is it possible for you not to show a picture of the dead? Please do not show a picture of a dead body," said the officer. "That's crazy."
'Now there is some closure'
Munif, a 50-year-old whose younger brother Siti Rahmah was on the plane, said he had been trying hard to keep the other families calm.
Members of the Search and Rescue Agency SARS carry debris recovered from the sea presumed from missing Indonesia AirAsia flight QZ 8501 at Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan, December 30, 2014. (Reuters)
"But the atmosphere was very different after the footage of a dead body was shown. Families became hysterical," he said.
"Because everyone was wailing and yelling, I couldn't deal with it so I decided to leave the room."
Agus Panjaya, 36, had six relatives on the plane but was prepared for bad news.
"Of course we feel sad about our loved ones but we had prepared ourselves for the worst," said the businessman, who lost his 80-year-old grandmother Go Indree, along with his aunt and uncle and their three children.
"Before this everything was unclear. At least there is now some form of closure. For the past three days, we were really sad. We couldn't sleep well," he told AFP.
Panjaya said he was going to wait in Surabaya for the bodies.
"We don't think of compensation at the moment. As long as the bodies are being brought back, we are already grateful. That's what we are thinking right now," he said.
In Malaysia, families of those on the MH370 flight that went missing without a trace in March hoped those lost in the latest tragedy could at least have a proper burial.
"The families can now have a closure and have a peace of mind which I am dying for," said Selamat Omar, whose 29-year-old son was on the Malaysia Airlines plane.
EARLIER REPORT
Indonesian rescuers searching for an AirAsia plane carrying 162 people pulled bodies and wreckage from the sea off the coast of Borneo on Tuesday, prompting relatives of those on board watching TV footage to break down in tears.
Indonesia AirAsia's Flight QZ8501, an Airbus A320-200, lost contact with air traffic control early on Sunday during bad weather on a flight from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore.
The navy said 40 bodies had been recovered. The plane has yet to be found.
Members of the Indonesian air force carry items retrieved from the Java sea during search and rescue operations for the missing AirAsia flight QZ8501, in Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan on December 30, 2014. (AFP)
"My heart is filled with sadness for all the families involved in QZ8501," airline boss Tony Fernandes tweeted. "On behalf of AirAsia, my condolences to all. Words cannot express how sorry I am."
The airline said in a statement that it was inviting family members to Surabaya, "where a dedicated team of care providers will be assigned to each family to ensure that all of their needs are met".
Pictures of floating bodies were broadcast on television and relatives of the missing already gathered at a crisis centre in Surabaya wept with heads in their hands. Several people collapsed in grief and were helped away.
"You have to be strong," the mayor of Surabaya, Tri Rismaharini, said as she comforted relatives. "They are not ours, they belong to God."
A navy spokesman said a plane door, oxygen tanks and one body had been recovered and taken away by helicopter for tests.
"The challenge is waves up to three metres high," Fransiskus Bambang Soelistyo, head of the Search and Rescue Agency, told reporters, adding that the search operation would go on all night. He declined to answer questions on whether any survivors had been found.
About 30 ships and 21 aircraft from Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and the United States have been involved in the search.
Family members of passengers onboard the missing Malaysian air carrier AirAsia flight QZ8501 react after watching news reports showing an unidentified body floating in the Java sea, inside the crisis-centre set up at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya on December 30, 2014. (AFP)
The plane, which did not issue a distress signal, disappeared after its pilot failed to get permission to fly higher to avoid bad weather because of heavy air traffic, officials said.
It was travelling at 32,000 feet (9,753 metres) and had asked to fly at 38,000 feet, officials said earlier.
Pilots and aviation experts said thunderstorms, and requests to gain altitude to avoid them, were not unusual in that area.
The Indonesian pilot was experienced and the plane last underwent maintenance in mid-November, the airline said.
The aircraft had accumulated about 23,000 flight hours in some 13,600 flights, according to Airbus.
A member of the Indonesian air force carries an item retrieved from the Java sea during search and rescue operations for the missing AirAsia flight, in Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan on December 30, 2014. (AFP)
Online discussion among pilots has centred on unconfirmed secondary radar data from Malaysia that suggested the aircraft was climbing at a speed of 353 knots, about 100 knots too slow, and that it might have stalled.
Clues when things go wrong
The plane, whose engines were made by CFM International, co-owned by General Electric and Safran of France, lacked real-time engine diagnostics or monitoring, a GE spokesman said.
Such systems are mainly used on long-haul flights and can provide clues to airlines and investigators when things go wrong.
Reuters
EARLIER REPORT: Indonesian officials tell local TV 'victims' spotted near site where Air Asia plane disappeared, reported AP.
Tony Fernandes, Group CEO of Air Asia, took to social media to express his grief, saying: “My heart is filled with sadness for all the families involved in QZ8501. On behalf of AirAsia my condolences to all. Words cannot express how sorry I am.”
Fernandes stated he is rushing to Surabaya.
Earlier, an Indonesian transport official said that the red and white debris spotted off the coast of Indonesia's part of Borneo island is likely to be part an Air Asia plane carrying 162 people which is presumed to have crashed two days ago.
Media quoted an air force official as saying a suspected body, luggage and a life vest were among the debris.
"As we approached, the body seemed bloated," said First Lieutenant Tri Wibowo, who was on board a Hercules during the search operation, was quoted by the Kompas.com website as saying.
The sighting of the body was not confirmed. (Reuters)
Pilots could not get OK to change course
Pilots sought permission to climb above threatening clouds. Air traffic control couldn't say yes immediately — there was no room. Six other airliners were crowding the airspace, forcing Air Asia Flight 8501 to remain at a lower altitude.
Minutes later, the jet carrying 162 people was gone from the radar without ever issuing a distress signal. The plane is believed to have crashed into Indonesia's Java Sea, but broad aerial surveys on Monday turned up no firm evidence of the missing Airbus A320-200.
Family members of passengers of missing AirAsia flight QZ8501 gather at Juanda international airport in Surabaya in East Java on December 28, hours after the news the flight went missing. (AFP)
Searchers spotted two oily patches and floating objects in separate locations, but it was not known any of it was related to the plane that vanished Sunday halfway into what should have been a two-hour hop from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore. The area is a busy shipping lane. Officials saw little reason to believe the flight met anything but a grim fate.
An AirAsia Airbus A320 passenger jet lands at Sukarno-Hatta airport in Tangerang on the outskirts of Jakarta in this January 30, 2013 file picture. An AirAsia flight from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore lost contact with air traffic control on December 28, 2014 Indonesian media said, citing a Transport Ministry official. (REUTERS)
Based on the plane's last known coordinates, the aircraft probably crashed into the water and "is at the bottom of the sea," Indonesia search-and-rescue chief Henry Bambang Soelistyo said. Still, searchers planned to expand their efforts onto land on Tuesday.
The last communication from the cockpit to air traffic control was a request by one of the pilots to climb from 32,000 feet (9,754 meters) to 38,000 feet (11,582 meters) because of the weather. The tower was not able to immediately comply because of the other planes, said Bambang Tjahjono, director of the state-owned company in charge of air traffic control. (AP)
Indonesia asks US help in finding missing plane
The State Department said Monday that Indonesia has asked the United States for help in locating a missing Air Asia jet, and the Pentagon said it could include detection equipment deployed by air, surface and sub-surface.
The Navy's 7th Fleet said it is sending the USS Sampson, a destroyer. The Pentagon said it could include detection equipment deployed by air, surface and sub-surface.
The jet carrying 162 people is believed to have crashed into Indonesia's Java Sea. The State Department says no Americans were on board.
The US Embassy in Jakarta received a diplomatic note from Indonesian officials on Monday asking for assistance finding the plane. State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke says the US is identifying how best to help.
The Pentagon's press secretary, Rear Adm. John Kirby, said in a brief statement that while details are being coordinated, the assistance "could include air, surface and sub-surface detection capabilities."
"We stand ready to assist in any way possible," Kirby said.
AirAsia Flight 8501 vanished Sunday morning on its way from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore.
Object spotted in sea not from AirAsia plane: Indonesian VP
An object spotted during a sea search for an AirAsia plane was not from the aircraft, Indonesia's vice president said on Monday, after reports that an Australian surveillance aircraft had found something.
"It has been checked and no sufficient evidence was found to confirm what was reported," Jusuf Kalla told a press conference at Surabaya airport from where the ill-fated plane departed.
Kalla said there were 15 ships and 30 aircraft searching the area.
A Changi Airport staff holds up a sign to direct possible next-of-kins of passengers of AirAsia flight QZ 8501 from Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore, at Changi Airport in Singapore December 28, 2014. Indonesia's Transport Ministry official Hadi Mustofa said the aircraft, flight number QZ 8501, lost contact with the Jakarta air traffic control tower on Sunday at 6:17 a.m local time (2317 GMT). The Airbus 320-200 had 155 passengers and crew on board, another Indonesian Transport official said. (REUTERS)
"It is not an easy operation in the sea, especially in bad weather like this," he said.
Indonesian Air Force spokesman Hadi Tjahjanto told AFP the search was now focused on a patch of oil spotted off Belitung island in the Java Sea.
"We are making sure whether it was avtur (aviation fuel) from the AirAsia plane or from a vessel because that location is a shipping line," he said.
Australia, Singapore and Malaysia have deployed planes and ships to assist in the Indonesian search for Flight QZ8501, which disappeared over the Java Sea on Sunday en route to Singapore. (AFP)
Australian plane spots objects in sea
An Indonesian official says objects have been spotted in the sea by a search plane hunting for the missing AirAsia jet.
Jakarta's Air Force base commander Rear Marshal Dwi Putranto says he was informed on Monday that an Australian Orion aircraft had detected suspicious objects near Nangka island, about 160km southwest of Pangkalan Bun, near central Kalimantan, or 1,120km from the location where the plane lost contact.
Passengers wait at the AirAsia check-in counter inside terminal 1 at Changi international airport in Singapore on December 28, 2014. AirAsia flight QZ8501 with 162 people on board went missing en route from Indonesia to Singapore on December 28, officials and the airline said, in the third major incident to affect a Malaysian carrier this year. (AFP)
"However, we cannot be sure whether it is part of the missing AirAsia plane," Putranto says, "We are now moving in that direction, which is in cloudy conditions."
Air Asia plane likely 'at bottom of sea': Indonesia search chief
The Air Asia plane which went missing with 162 people on board en route for Singapore is likely at the bottom of the sea, Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency chief said Monday.
"Based on the coordinates given to us and evaluation that the estimated crash position is in the sea, the hypothesis is the plane is at the bottom of the sea," Bambang Soelistyo told a press conference.
"That's the preliminary suspicion and it can develop based on the evaluation of the result of our search."
Meanwhile, in its latest statement the carrier said: "AirAsia Indonesia has received confirmation from The National Search and Rescue Agency Republic of Indonesia (Basarnas) that an international search and rescue mission from Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia has been mobilized in the search of flight QZ8501.”
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EARLIER STORIES
Indonesia searches Java Sea
Indonesia searched the Java Sea on Monday for an AirAsia plane carrying 162 people that went missing after its pilot failed to gain permission to alter course to avoid a storm cell during a flight from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore.
Flight QZ8501 did not issue a distress signal and disappeared five minutes after requesting a change of course on Sunday, said government and transport officials.
People queue at an AirAsia sales counter in terminal 1 at Changi international airport in Singapore on December 28, 2014. AirAsia flight QZ8501 with 162 people on board went missing en route from Indonesia to Singapore on December 28, officials and the airline said, in the third major incident to affect a Malaysian carrier this year. (AFP)
Air Force spokesman Hadi Thahjanto said two C-130 Hercules planes were focusing their search efforts in areas northeast of Indonesia's Bangka island, which lies roughly halfway between Surabaya and Singapore, in the Java Sea.
Singapore said it had sent two naval vessels to help look for the Airbus A320-200 operated by Indonesia AirAsia, adding a C-130 took part in the search on Sunday.
Malaysia would send three naval vessels and a C-130 to assist, Singapore's Channel News Asia television reported. An Australian P3 Orion surveillance plane left Darwin to join the search, Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio said. The United States, Britain, South Korea and India also offered help.
"We have been coordinating with parties from Singapore, Malaysia and Australia who have (expressed) a willingness to assist," Tataog Zainuddin, director of operations at the Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency, told Reuters.
Indonesia halts search for missing plane as night falls
Indonesia called off until first light a search for an AirAsia plane with 162 people on board that went missing on Sunday after pilots asked to change course to avoid bad weather during a flight from Indonesia's Surabaya city to Singapore.
Indonesia AirAsia Flight QZ8501, an Airbus 320-200 carrying 155 passengers and seven crew, lost contact with Jakarta air traffic control at 6:17 a.m. (2317 GMT on Saturday). No distress signal had been sent, said Joko Muryo Atmodjo, an Indonesian transport ministry official.
On board were 155 Indonesians, three South Koreans and one each from Singapore, Malaysia and Britain, plus a French pilot, the airline said in a statement, correcting earlier information.
Tatang Kurniadi, head of Indonesia's National Committee of Safety Transportation, expressed hope of locating the aircraft quickly and said it was too early to detect any of the so-called electronic pings from its black box recorder.
Family members of passengers of missing AirAsia flight QZ8501 gather at Juanda international airport in Surabaya in East Java on December 28, hours after the news the flight went missing. (AFP)
"We are using our capacity to search on sea and land. Hopefully we can find the location of the plane as soon as possible," he told a news conference.
"What I need to emphasise is until now, we have not found out how the plane fell or what kind of emergency it was."
Indonesia AirAsia is 49 per cent owned by Malaysia-based budget carrier AirAsia, which has had a clean safety record since it began operating 13 years ago. The AirAsia group also has affiliates in Thailand, the Philippines and India.
The aircraft had accumulated approximately 23,000 flight hours in some 13,600 flights, according to Airbus.
The pilots of QZ8501 "was requesting deviation due to en-route weather before communication with the aircraft was lost," the airline said in a statement.
Singapore, Malaysia, Britain, South Korea and Australia offered to help in the search and any investigation. Malaysia said it was sending vessels and a C130 aircraft while Singapore had also sent a C130. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said a P3 Orion aircraft was on standby if needed.
ANXIOUS RELATIVES
Flight QZ8501 was between Tanjung Pandan on Indonesia's Belitung island and Pontianak, in West Kalimantan province on Borneo - almost halfway between Surabaya and Singapore - when it went missing. There was bad weather over Belitung at the time and the aircraft had been flying at 32,000 feet before asking to fly at 38,000 feet to avoid clouds.
In both Surabaya and Singapore, anxious relatives of people on the plane awaited news.
Louise Sidharta was at Singapore's Changi Airport waiting for her fiancée to return from a family holiday.
"It was supposed to be their last vacation before we got married," she said.
A man named Purnomo told TVOne in Surabaya of a lucky escape.
"I should have been on the flight," he said. "We, seven people, had planned to go to Singapore for vacation but this morning I had an emergency. I had my passport in hand."
Family members of passengers of missing Malaysian air carrier AirAsia flight QZ8501 gather at Juanda international airport in Surabaya in East Java on December 28, 2014 hours after the news the flight went missing. The AirAsia Airbus plane with 162 people on board went missing en route from Indonesia to Singapore early on December 28, officials and the airline said, in the third major incident to affect a Malaysian carrier this year. (AFP)
Tony Fernandes, chief of Malaysia's AirAsia, said he was heading to Surabaya.
"My only thoughts are with the passengers and my crew. We put our hope in the SAR (search and rescue) operation and thank the Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysian governments," he said on Twitter.
AirAsia swapped its distinctive bright red logo for a grey background on its website and social media accounts.
EARLER UPDATE: Search halted for missing AirAsia jet as night falls
Rescuers scouring the Java Sea for a missing AirAsia plane with 162 aboard halted their search at nightfall on Sunday, Indonesia's transport ministry said.
"We ended at 5:30 pm (1030 GMT) because it was getting dark. The weather was also not too good as it was getting really cloudy," transport ministry official Hadi Mustofa told AFP.
Family members of passengers of missing Malaysian air carrier AirAsia flight QZ8501 gather at Juanda international airport in Surabaya in East Java on December 28, 2014 hours after the news the flight went missing. The AirAsia Airbus plane with 162 people on board went missing en route from Indonesia to Singapore early on December 28, officials and the airline said, in the third major incident to affect a Malaysian carrier this year. (AFP)
"Tomorrow we will begin at 7 am, or even earlier than that if the weather is good," he added.
Missing flight had asked to fly higher to avoid clouds
The Indonesia AirAsia flight that went missing on Sunday was about half way between its origin of Surabaya in Indonesia and its destination of Singapore, an Indonesian transport official said.
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, Joko Muryo Atmodjo, air transportation director at the Transport Ministry, told a news conference.
Family members of passengers of missing Malaysian air carrier AirAsia flight QZ8501 gather at Juanda international airport in Surabaya in East Java on December 28, 2014 hours after the news the flight went missing. The AirAsia Airbus plane with 162 people on board went missing en route from Indonesia to Singapore early on December 28, officials and the airline said, in the third major incident to affect a Malaysian carrier this year. (AFP)
The aircraft had been flying at 32,000 feet and had asked to fly at 38,000 feet to avoid clouds, he said.
3 South Koreans on board missing flight
South Korea's foreign ministry said on Sunday there were at least three South Koreans on board the missing Indonesia AirAsia
.
The three passengers confirmed by Indonesian authorities to the South Korean foreign ministry were one male and one female in their thirties and an infant, the ministry said.
Britain confirms one of its nationals on missing jet
A British national was on board the AirAsia plane carrying 162 people that went missing in bad weather Sunday en route from Indonesia to Singapore, the Foreign Office confirmed.
Authorities monitor progress in the search for AirAsia Flight QZ8501 in the Mission Control Center inside the National Search and Rescue Agency in Jakarta. (Reuters)
"We are aware of an incident regarding Air Asia flight QZ 8501," said a statement from the ministry. "We have been informed by the local authorities that one British national was on board. Their next of kin has been informed, and we stand ready to provide consular assistance."
EARLIER REPORT
An Air Asia flight bound for Singapore from Indonesia has lost contact with air traffic control in the early hours of Sunday with 162 people on board.
The airline has confirmed the news, stating flight QZ8501, departing from Surabaya, Indonesia, went missing at 7.24am (Indonesian time).
AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes ponders during a press conference at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia. (AP)
Air Asia stated the missing plane had 155 passengers on board, with 138 adults, 16 children and one infant.
Anxious families await news...Click here for pictures
Also on board were two pilots and five cabin crew.
In a statement the airline further added: “The nationalities of passengers and crew onboard are as follows: one Singapore, one Malaysia, one France, three South Korea and 156 Indonesia.”
A flight arrival information signboard shows the status of AirAsia flight QZ 8501 from Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore at Changi Airport in Singapore December 28, 2014. Indonesia's Transport Ministry official Hadi Mustofa said the aircraft, flight number QZ 8501, lost contact with the Jakarta air traffic control tower on Sunday at 6:17 a.m local time. (2317 GMT). The Airbus 320-200 had 155 passengers and crew on board, another Indonesian Transport official said. (REUTERS)
Live flight tracking website, Flight Radar 24, stated the AirAsia QZ8501 was flying at 32,000 feet over the Java Sea when the ADS-B signal was lost.
In a statement, the airline said: “AirAsia Indonesia regrets to confirm that flight QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore has lost contact with air traffic control at 07:24 (Surabaya LT) this morning.
“The flight took off from Juanda International Airport in Surabaya at 0535hours.
“The aircraft was an Airbus A320-200 with the registration number PK-AXC. There were two pilots, four flight attendants and one engineer on board.”
The airline has also revealed the captain in command had a total of 6,100 flying hours and the first officer a total of 2,275 flying hours.”
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The statement further adds that at this time, search and rescue operations are being conducted under the guidance of The Indonesia of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
“The aircraft was on the submitted flight plan route and was requesting deviation due to en route weather before communication with the aircraft was lost while it was still under the control of the Indonesian Air Traffic Control (ATC),” it added.
The aircraft had undergone its last scheduled maintenance on 16 November 2014.
The aircraft was an Airbus A320-200 with the registration number PK-AXC.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) also issued a statement to the same, saying: “Indonesia AirAsia has advised that one Singaporean is on board the missing flight, QZ8501.
“We have already made contact with the relatives of the Singaporean and are providing them with all necessary assistance and support.
“A Relatives’ Area (RA) at Changi Airport Terminal 2 has been set up to provide assistance to next-of-kin (NOK) of passengers on-board. NOKs are advised to go to the information counter located in the middle of Terminal 2 Arrival Hall (Level 1).”
It further added: “We remain ready to provide any assistance to support the search and rescue effort. The CAAS and Changi Airport Group (CAG) Crisis Management Centres have already been activated.
“We are working with the airline’s crisis management team,” said the CAAS.
The aircraft was in the Indonesian Flight Information Region (FIR) when contact was lost, more than 200nm southeast of the Singapore-Jakarta FIR boundary.
The CAAS has added two C130s are already on stand-by for assistance in the search and rescue.
Meanwhile, the airline has established an Emergency Call Centre for family or friends of those who may have been on board the aircraft.
For Indonesians, the number is: +622129850801
For Singaporeans, the number is: +60321795950
Air Asia, which is headquartered in Malaysia, is another incident marking 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.