AirAsia airliner missing, search suspended for night

People related to passengers on AirAsia flight QZ8501 look on informations of the missing flight at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, Indonesia, on Dec. 28, 2014. Rescuers searching for a missing AirAsia plane with 162 aboard over the Java Sea suspended their operation at nightfall on Sunday, Indonesia's transport ministry said. (Xinhua)

An AirAsia passenger plane with 162 people aboard disappeared Sunday morning en route from Indonesia to Singapore, and no traces of its whereabouts had been found before aerial search was suspended for the night.[Special coverage]

In pic: possible location of missing AirAsia flight QZ8501

Speaking at a televised press conference in the evening, Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla said that the Airbus A320-200 jet might have crashed, but "we haven't got any information that indicates where."

Major air accidents in recent years

The ill-fated aircraft was operated by AirAsia Indonesia, a unit of Malaysia-based leading regional budget carrier AirAsia. Airbus said it was delivered to AirAsia in October 2008, and AirAsia said it underwent its last scheduled maintenance on Nov. 16.

"We have no idea at the moment what went wrong," AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes told a press conference after flying to Surabaya, where the missing Flight QZ8501 originated. "Let's not speculate at the moment."

The jetliner, carrying 155 passengers and seven crew members, lost contact with ground control about 42 minutes after its takeoff at 5:35 a.m. local time (2235 GMT Saturday). It is scheduled to land in Singapore at 8:30 a.m. local time (0030 GMT).

AirAsia said the plane, which was on the submitted flight plan route, had requested to turn left and climb to 10,360 meters to avoid clouds before it disappeared from radar.

The misfortune came at the end of a disastrous year for Malaysia's aviation industry. Malaysia Airlines, the country's flag carrier, lost a Boeing 777 with 239 people aboard on March 8, and the whereabouts of the vanished Flight MH370 remains a mystery despite massive search efforts.

On July 17, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, also a Boeing 777, went down in war-torn eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 aboard. Investigators concluded that it was hit by "high-energy objects from outside the aircraft."

AIR SEARCH SUSPENDED DUE TO NIGHTFALL

In Jakarta, Indonesia's search and rescue agency said the airborne search for the missing jet was suspended due to nightfall and will resume Monday morning.