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| Indonesian official says missing AirAsia jet is believed to be at the bottom of the sea | Indonesian official says missing AirAsia jet is believed to be at the bottom of the sea |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| BEIJING — As they resumed the search for the missing AirAsia plane on Monday, Indonesian authorities said they believe the commercial jet already lies at the bottom of the sea. | BEIJING — As they resumed the search for the missing AirAsia plane on Monday, Indonesian authorities said they believe the commercial jet already lies at the bottom of the sea. |
| Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency chief Bambang Soelistyo at a press conference called it a “preliminary suspicion” based on last coordinates and the estimated crash position,. | Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency chief Bambang Soelistyo at a press conference called it a “preliminary suspicion” based on last coordinates and the estimated crash position,. |
| Soelistyo said Indonesia lacks the equipment needed to find and retrieve a plane from such depths and has reached out to other countries for help. Among the countries who have offered help with the technology needed are the United States, the United Kingdom and France. | Soelistyo said Indonesia lacks the equipment needed to find and retrieve a plane from such depths and has reached out to other countries for help. Among the countries who have offered help with the technology needed are the United States, the United Kingdom and France. |
| The plane, an Airbus A320-200 with 162 people aboard, encountered a string of thunderstorms and heavy clouds Sunday morning over the Java Sea. Hoping to avoid the worst of the weather, the pilot radioed in a request to climb from 32,000 feet to 38,000 feet, an Indonesian Transport Ministry official, Djoko Murjatmodjo, said at an earlier news conference. | The plane, an Airbus A320-200 with 162 people aboard, encountered a string of thunderstorms and heavy clouds Sunday morning over the Java Sea. Hoping to avoid the worst of the weather, the pilot radioed in a request to climb from 32,000 feet to 38,000 feet, an Indonesian Transport Ministry official, Djoko Murjatmodjo, said at an earlier news conference. |
| Indonesian air-traffic controllers apparently denied the request to climb to a higher altitude, just minutes before the plane disappeared from their screens Sunday without a distress call. | Indonesian air-traffic controllers apparently denied the request to climb to a higher altitude, just minutes before the plane disappeared from their screens Sunday without a distress call. |
| Controllers at first gave him the okay but then reversed themselves because of other air traffic in the vicinity, including a flight above his, Murjatmodjo told Kompas, a leading Indonesian newspaper. | Controllers at first gave him the okay but then reversed themselves because of other air traffic in the vicinity, including a flight above his, Murjatmodjo told Kompas, a leading Indonesian newspaper. |
| Indonesian officials said Monday they had expanded the search area, from four sectors to seven on Monday. The search effort Monday included assets from Malaysia, Singapore and Australia. South Korea said it planned to send a surveillance plane to help. | Indonesian officials said Monday they had expanded the search area, from four sectors to seven on Monday. The search effort Monday included assets from Malaysia, Singapore and Australia. South Korea said it planned to send a surveillance plane to help. |
| First Admiral Sigit Setiayana at the Surabaya air force base said that 12 Indonesian navy ships, five planes, three helicopters and a number of warships were taking part, the Associated Press reported. | First Admiral Sigit Setiayana at the Surabaya air force base said that 12 Indonesian navy ships, five planes, three helicopters and a number of warships were taking part, the Associated Press reported. |
| “God willing, we can find it soon,” he said. | “God willing, we can find it soon,” he said. |
| Investigators are trying to locate debris from the crash and then work backwards following currents to find the wreckage on the seabed. To do so, they will need ships equipped with advanced sonar and search vehicles that can look for signs of the wreckage underwater, experts said. | Investigators are trying to locate debris from the crash and then work backwards following currents to find the wreckage on the seabed. To do so, they will need ships equipped with advanced sonar and search vehicles that can look for signs of the wreckage underwater, experts said. |
| Once the wreckage is found, the cockpit voice and flight data recorders would offer the most substantial clues as to what went wrong. | Once the wreckage is found, the cockpit voice and flight data recorders would offer the most substantial clues as to what went wrong. |
| Indonesian authorities were searching near Belitung island in the Java Sea, where flight QZ8501 — en route from Surabaya, Indonesia to Singapore — lost contact. The Associated Press reported that an Indonesian helicopter saw two oily spots in the search area Monday afternoon, and an Australian search plane spotted objects hundreds of miles away, but it was too early to know whether either was connected to the missing aircraft. | |
| The Indonesian officials belief that the plane is likely already underwater would explain the lack of a signal from the plane’s emergency locator transmitter, said Australia-based aviation security expert Desmond Ross | The Indonesian officials belief that the plane is likely already underwater would explain the lack of a signal from the plane’s emergency locator transmitter, said Australia-based aviation security expert Desmond Ross |
| “All these aircraft have this beacon that triggers on impact and sends a signal to satellites,” Ross said. “If it’s gone to the bottom of the sea, we probably wouldn’t hear that signal.” | “All these aircraft have this beacon that triggers on impact and sends a signal to satellites,” Ross said. “If it’s gone to the bottom of the sea, we probably wouldn’t hear that signal.” |
| Experts said the plane’s disappearance prompts several tantalizing questions. | Experts said the plane’s disappearance prompts several tantalizing questions. |
| Bad weather appeared to play a role, but why wasn’t the pilot able to avoid it earlier, said Ross, noting that modern commercial jets are equipped with radar that can monitor the weather more than 100 miles ahead of its path. | Bad weather appeared to play a role, but why wasn’t the pilot able to avoid it earlier, said Ross, noting that modern commercial jets are equipped with radar that can monitor the weather more than 100 miles ahead of its path. |
| The speed of the airplane will likely be at the forefront of any investigation, said John Cox, a former accident investigator. Radar suggests the plane was flying at a low speed, Cox said. Too slow at certain altitudes will cause an airplane to physically stall with insufficient lift to sustain flight, he said. | The speed of the airplane will likely be at the forefront of any investigation, said John Cox, a former accident investigator. Radar suggests the plane was flying at a low speed, Cox said. Too slow at certain altitudes will cause an airplane to physically stall with insufficient lift to sustain flight, he said. |
| Geoffrey Thomas, editor of airlineratings.com, said he reviewed radar data of the flight obtained by other A320 pilots showing the plane at an altitude of 36,300 feet and climbing and traveling at 353 knots or roughly 406 miles per hour — a relatively low speed for that altitude. | Geoffrey Thomas, editor of airlineratings.com, said he reviewed radar data of the flight obtained by other A320 pilots showing the plane at an altitude of 36,300 feet and climbing and traveling at 353 knots or roughly 406 miles per hour — a relatively low speed for that altitude. |
| Many experts have compared the AirAsia flight to the crash of an Air France flight in 2009, in which airspeed measurements failed, leading pilots to put the plane into a stall. While wreckage of the Air France flight was spotted within days, it took two years for the black-box recorder to be found and retrieved. | Many experts have compared the AirAsia flight to the crash of an Air France flight in 2009, in which airspeed measurements failed, leading pilots to put the plane into a stall. While wreckage of the Air France flight was spotted within days, it took two years for the black-box recorder to be found and retrieved. |
| “I don’t think it will take nearly as long in this case,” said Cox. Authorities searching for the AirAsia plane are facing a much shallower region of water and a smaller search area. | “I don’t think it will take nearly as long in this case,” said Cox. Authorities searching for the AirAsia plane are facing a much shallower region of water and a smaller search area. |
| The plane’s disappearance was the third air crisis this year for Southeast Asia — and an eerily familiar one, just nine months after a Malaysia Airlines jetliner disappeared over the Indian Ocean. That plane, with 239 people on board, is still lost. Another Malaysia Airlines jet was shot down over eastern Ukraine in July, killing all 298 people aboard. | The plane’s disappearance was the third air crisis this year for Southeast Asia — and an eerily familiar one, just nine months after a Malaysia Airlines jetliner disappeared over the Indian Ocean. That plane, with 239 people on board, is still lost. Another Malaysia Airlines jet was shot down over eastern Ukraine in July, killing all 298 people aboard. |
| The AirAsia flight took off from the Indonesian city of Surabaya and was scheduled to land in Singapore at 8:30 a.m. Sunday. Almost all the passengers and crew members were Indonesians. | The AirAsia flight took off from the Indonesian city of Surabaya and was scheduled to land in Singapore at 8:30 a.m. Sunday. Almost all the passengers and crew members were Indonesians. |
| The AirAsia flight lost contact at 6:17 a.m. local time (6:17 p.m. Saturday in Washington). The break in communications occurred 42 minutes after takeoff and roughly an hour before the scheduled landing at Changi Airport, Indonesian authorities said. In initial statements, Singapore authorities and AirAsia placed the lost contact at 6:24 a.m. — a discrepancy that has not been explained. | The AirAsia flight lost contact at 6:17 a.m. local time (6:17 p.m. Saturday in Washington). The break in communications occurred 42 minutes after takeoff and roughly an hour before the scheduled landing at Changi Airport, Indonesian authorities said. In initial statements, Singapore authorities and AirAsia placed the lost contact at 6:24 a.m. — a discrepancy that has not been explained. |
| Instead of welcoming their loved ones Sunday morning, anguished and terrified relatives and friends gathered in crisis centers set up inside Juanda International Airport in Indonesia and Changi Airport in Singapore, desperately awaiting word of the lost plane. | Instead of welcoming their loved ones Sunday morning, anguished and terrified relatives and friends gathered in crisis centers set up inside Juanda International Airport in Indonesia and Changi Airport in Singapore, desperately awaiting word of the lost plane. |
| Thousands of people across the world expressed support Sunday on Twitter and Facebook, or captured the shock with the message “Not again.” Pope Francis prayed for the missing, according to Vatican Radio. Indonesian President Joko Widodo said his nation was “praying for the safety” of those on board. | Thousands of people across the world expressed support Sunday on Twitter and Facebook, or captured the shock with the message “Not again.” Pope Francis prayed for the missing, according to Vatican Radio. Indonesian President Joko Widodo said his nation was “praying for the safety” of those on board. |
| Sunday afternoon, AirAsia changed the color of its logo on its Web site and social-media accounts from a festive holiday design to a shrouded, all-black bar. | Sunday afternoon, AirAsia changed the color of its logo on its Web site and social-media accounts from a festive holiday design to a shrouded, all-black bar. |
| The airline’s chief executive, Tony Fernandes, flew to Surabaya and later told a news briefing: “We are very devastated by what’s happened; it’s unbelievable.” | The airline’s chief executive, Tony Fernandes, flew to Surabaya and later told a news briefing: “We are very devastated by what’s happened; it’s unbelievable.” |
| While no one was sure if weather was the cause of the disappearance, it probably complicated things, according to AccuWeather.com meteorologist Alex Sosnowski, who said, “The storms in the area were capable of producing severe turbulence, strong wind shear, frequent lightning and icing.” December and January are the wettest months in Indonesia. | While no one was sure if weather was the cause of the disappearance, it probably complicated things, according to AccuWeather.com meteorologist Alex Sosnowski, who said, “The storms in the area were capable of producing severe turbulence, strong wind shear, frequent lightning and icing.” December and January are the wettest months in Indonesia. |
| Aviation experts could only speculate as to why there was no distress call. One likely possibility was that a sudden and probably catastrophic depressurization incapacitated the pilots or the communications equipment. | Aviation experts could only speculate as to why there was no distress call. One likely possibility was that a sudden and probably catastrophic depressurization incapacitated the pilots or the communications equipment. |
| Emily Wax-Thibodeaux in Washington and Gu Jinglu and Liu Liu in Beijing contributed to this report. | Emily Wax-Thibodeaux in Washington and Gu Jinglu and Liu Liu in Beijing contributed to this report. |