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The aircraft, en route from Indonesia to Singapore, lost contact with ground control, with strong thunderstorms reported in the area. AirAsia's Group CEO: "This is my worst nightmare."

Search once again called off for AirAsia jet lost with 162 people aboard


Dalia Ibrahim
Digital Reporter

Sunday, December 28, 2014, 6:11 PM - Ships and planes have once again suspended the aerial search for a passenger jet that went missing over the weekend on a flight from Indonesia to Singapore.

The plane lost contact with ground control 42 minutes after taking-off at 5:35 a.m. Sunday, local time. The aerial search for it will resume when daylight returns.

The pilot had requested a course change due to difficult weather in the area.

A reported 162 people were aboard the Airbus A320 when it went missing between Sumatra and Borneo amid difficult weather.

The Foreign Affairs Department says there's no indication there are any Canadians on board.

But a spokesperson says Canadian officials are working to confirm that with local authorities.


The Science Behind the Weather: The causes and dangers of air turbulence


Here's what we know about the weather conditions in the area

  • AirAsia says the plane's pilot had requested a slight change of course due to storm clouds, from 32,000 feet to 38,000 feet.
  • The Indonesian transportation ministry confirms the pilot asked for permission to gain altitude due to thick cloud (according to the BBC).
  • This preliminary analysis from Weather Graphics notes heavy thunderstorms were detected along the plane's path, along with frequent lightning, and strong thunderstorms are common in the area at this time of the year. 
  • Weather Graphics also notes icing was possible.

Here's what we know about the plane:

  • The plane: An Airbus 320-200, delivered to AirAsia in 2008. Had recorded 23,000 flight hours over 13,600 flights. Last scheduled maintenance was November 16, 2014.
  • The crew: Two pilots, four flight attendants, one engineer. Captain had 6,100 flying hours, first officer had 2,275.
  • The passengers: 162 total, including 16 children and one infant according to AirAsia. Nationalities: 156 Indonesians, three South Koreans, one Malaysian, one British, one Singaporean. The Foreign Affairs Department says there's no indication there are any Canadians on board a missing Air Asia flight.

No distress signal was sent before the aircraft disappeared from screens.

AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes acknowledged the weather conditions in the area were unfavourable, but told a news conference he didn't want to speculate on whether that was the cause of the crash.

"Obviously there was storm clouds, and the pilot had made a request to change altitude, but that's as far as we know," he said Sunday. "We don't want to speculate as to weather was a contributor or not. We really don't know."

Before the search was called off, Indonesia has received offers help from Britain, Australia, Malaysia, South Korea and Singapore, in the form of ships and aircraft. Although the air search is on hold, vessels in the area are still searching with floodlights.

Meanwhile, family and friends of the missing passengers await news. 

In Singapore, Louise Sidharta, the fiancee of one of the passengers, said she heard of the plane's disappearance was on the radio en route to the airport. Her fiancee was travelling with his family.

"It was supposed to be their last vacation before we got married," she told reporters.

BELOW: Fiancee reaction to news of missing plane.

AirAsia is based in Malaysia, and the BBC says the airline has never lost a plane, but Malaysian aviation in general has suffered two major losses in the past year, both from carrier Malaysian Airlines.

The most famous, Flight MH370, went missing while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, with 239 people aboard. To this day it has not been found.

The second, MH17, was shot down over Ukraine as the country's civil war raged. Its 298 passengers and crew were killed in the crash.

WATCH BELOW: In Indonesia authorities combing the Java Sea for missing AirAsia flight 8501 have resumed their search efforts. The aircraft lost contact with air traffic control while flying from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore. Here's the latest.

CHECK BACK FOR UPDATES

With files from Daniel Martins

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