AirAsia: Search Area for Missing Jet to Expand
— -- The search for the missing AirAsia jetliner that disappeared Sunday morning over the Java Sea has been suspended for the day, with no significant breakthroughs reported, according to Bambang Soelistyo, the head of Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency.
While the second day of searching mainly focused on the waters around Belitung Island, Indonesia, search crews plan to spend day 3 focusing on utilizing foreign vessels with sonar capabilities, Soelistyo said. The day 3 search area will contain at least four new sectors, including ground area, he added.
The day 2 search area was expanded to seven sectors after initially focused on four sectors, the rescue agency said in an earlier statement. The search area was devised from data received when the plane lost contact, as well from as supplementary data such as weather conditions.
Authorities were testing oil and objects spotted by search crews, Soelistyo said.
The agency has contributed 12 ships, tens of boats and two helicopters. Malaysia and Singapore were each deploying three ships and one Hercules plane, the Indonesian Air Force was deploying two Hercules planes, one Boeing 737 and two "Puma" aircraft, and the Indonesian Navy was deploying two warships, authorities said. Additionally, the Australian Defence Force deployed an AP-3C Orion maritime patrol Aircraft to assist in the search.
Searchers "currently suspect" that the plane is on the bottom of the ocean, the head of the lead agency in the operation said.
Search for AirAsia Flight 8501
AirAsia Flight 8501 was carrying 162 people when it went missing over the Java Sea.
"We currently suspect that plane is located on the ocean floor," Soelistyo said at an earlier news conference.
If the plane is found on the ocean floor, there would be a challenge in getting the plane to the surface because Indonesia does not have the "submersible" equipment necessary, he said.
The plane's Emergency Locator Transmitter should function automatically and send warning signals, but no signal has been detected by control centers in Indonesia or in neighboring countries, he said.
Soelistyo said Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency is spearheading the search effort.
The AirAsia jet lost contact with air traffic control over the Java Sea during a flight to Singapore Sunday morning, shortly after the pilots requested a change of flight plan because of weather.
Flight QZ8501, an Airbus A320-200, lost contact with air traffic control in Jakarta at 6:17 a.m. Sunday, local time, near Belitung Island after the flight left Surabaya, Indonesia, Indonesian Air Transport Director Djoko Murjatmodjo said during a news conference Sunday.
The flight, which had at least 162 people on board, was scheduled to land in Singapore at 7:57 a.m. local time.
The six-year-old aircraft was on its submitted flight plan but the pilot requested a deviation because of weather before communication with the aircraft was lost, AirAsia said.
Murjatmodjo said the pilot also requested to increase altitude to 38,000 feet from 32,000 feet to "avoid clouds." Thunderstorms were reported in the area with clouds up to 50,000 feet.
While ground control in Jakarta approved the pilot's request to divert the flight, the request to raise elevation hadn't been approved before contact with the plane was lost, said Murjatmodjo.
The plane had been in the air for about 41 minutes at the time.
The flight manifest for the jet showed there were 155 passengers on board, plus seven crew members, although the Indonesian transport ministry only reported six crew members.
