(CNN) -- The search is on for an AirAsia plane carrying 162
people that lost contact with Indonesian air traffic control
Sunday.
Before communication was lost, AirAsia Flight QZ 8501 asked
to deviate from its planned flight route -- from the Indonesian
city of Surabaya to Singapore -- because of weather
conditions, AirAsia said in a statement.
There was conflicting information about when exactly Flight
8501 went missing. AirAsia said contact was lost at 7:24
a.m. Sunday (7:24 p.m. Saturday ET), but Indonesian aviation
authorities said it happened earlier, at 6:17 a.m.
"At this time, search and rescue operations are being
conducted under the guidance of the Indonesian Civil
Aviation Authority," AirAsia said.
Of the people on board the Airbus A320-200, 156 are
Indonesian, three are South Korean, one is French, one is
Malaysian and one is Singaporean, the airline said.
Seventeen children, including one infant, are among the
passengers, the carrier said. Seven of the people on board
are crew members.
"Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers. we must stay
strong," AirAsia Chief Executive Tony Fernandes said on
Twitter. He later announced he was traveling to Surabaya,
saying most of the passengers are from there.
As word spread of the missing plane, the airline changed the
color of its logo on its social media accounts from red to
gray.
'Heavy thunderstorms' in area
Flight 8501 "was requesting deviation due to en route
weather before communication with the aircraft was lost,"
the airline said.
From flight tracking websites, almost the entire flight path
appears to be over the sea.
Bad weather was in evidence in the region at the time, CNN
meteorologist Derek Van Dam said.
"We still had lines of very heavy thunderstorms"
when the plane was flying, Van Dam said. "But
keep in mind, turbulence doesn't necessarily bring
down airplanes."
CNN aviation analyst Mary Schiavo questioned
whether weather would have been a factor in
what happened to the plane.
"Ordinarily, the pilots would get the updated
weather from air traffic control and, of course,
their onboard radar," said Schiavo, a former
inspector general for the U.S. Department of
Transportation. "So whether there was (bad)
weather in the area would not be a mystery."
AirAsia is a Malaysia-based airline that is popular in the
region as a budget carrier. It has about 100 destinations, with
affiliate companies in several Asian countries.
The missing plane is operated by AirAsia's Indonesian
affiliate, in which the Malaysian company holds a 48.9%
stake, according to its website.
'Very good' safety reputation
The Malaysian government said it was ready to offer
assistance to Indonesian and Singaporean authorities.
"Very sad to hear that AirAsia Indonesia QZ8501 is missing,"
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Twitter. "My
thoughts are with the families.
Singapore said it has activated its rescue and aviation
agencies.
AirAsia has a "very good" reputation for safety, CNN aviation
correspondent Richard Quest said.
Flight 8501's captain has a total of 6,100 flying hours and the
first officer a total of 2,275 flying hours, the airline said. The
plane's last scheduled maintenance was on November 16, it
said.
The loss of contact with the AirAsia plane comes nearly 10
months after the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight
370, which dropped off radar over Southeast Asia on March 8
with 239 people on board.
The Malaysian Airlines plane, a Boeing 777-200ER, lost
contact with air traffic control over the South China Sea
between Malaysia and Vietnam.
Searchers have yet to find any debris from Flight 370, which
officials believe crashed in the southern Indian Ocean after
veering dramatically off course.
U.S. President Barack Obama has been briefed about the
missing AirAsia plane, White House spokesman Eric Schultz
said, adding that U.S. officials will continue to monitor the
situation.