The ultimate fate of AirAsia flight QZ8501 remains unknown. However, the information that has come out in official statements from AirAsia and government officials is not hopeful. Here is a summary of everything we know so far.
- AirAsia confirmed in a statement earlier today that air traffic control lost contact with flight QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore at 7:24am on Dec. 28.
- The Airbus A320-200 took off from the Juanda international airport at 5:20am and was supposed to arrive in Singapore at 8:30am.
- Shortly before disappearing, the plane asked permission from Jakarta air traffic control to deviate from its flight plan and climb above bad weather in an area noted for severe thunderstorms.
- AirAsia released an official statement (later updated) regarding the nationality of the 162 passengers on board the plane. They included one Singaporean (a two-year-old girl travelling with her British father), one Malaysian, three South Koreans, one UK national, and 149 Indonesians. The nationalities of the crew are one French and six Indonesians.
- There were 138 adult passengers, 16 children and an infant, in addition to five cabin crew and the pilot and co-pilot.
- Air Asia says the captain of QZ8501 had more than 20,000 flying hours under his belt
- On Sunday, Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency in the Bangka Belitung Province said they were worried that storms and large waves could hinder the search for the missing plane.
- After being halted Sunday evening due to bad weather, search operations resumed on Monday at dawn with Australian aircraft joining Indonesian and Singaporean efforts.
- Indonesian search teams are now working under “the hypothesis is the plane is at the bottom of the sea.”
- On Monday evening, an Australian aircraft aiding in search efforts spotted “suspicious objects” in the sea about 700 miles from the last known coordinates of the AirAsia flight. But there has not yet been any confirmation on whether it’s the wreckage of QZ8501.
- As of Tuesday morning, US and Chinese military resources have been added to the search effort.
Additional reporting by AFP
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