News

AirAsia Plane Missing

by Kate Ward

Just nine months after Malaysia Airlines 370 supposedly crashed, another airline has mysteriously disappeared from radar. On 28 December, an AirAsia plane was reported missing while on route from Indonesia to Singapore, according to the Associated Press. According to the news source, 162 people were on board the airliner, and the plane was lost over the Java Sea. (Update: The plane, Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501, crashed into the Java Sea due to apparent bad weather, killing all 162 people on board.)

AirAsia issued a statement regarding the plane:

AirAsia Indonesia regrets to confirm that flight QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore has lost air traffic control at 07:24hrs this morning.

At the present time we unfortunately have no further information regarding the status of the passengers and crew members on board, but we will keep all parties informed as more information becomes available.

The aircraft was an Airbus A320-200 with the registration number PX-AXC.

At this time, search and rescue operations are in progress and AirAsia is cooperating fully and assisting the rescue service.

According to reports, the airliner had "asked for unusual reports" upon takeoff. Seven even of the 162 people on board were crew members.

Developing...