AirAsia Flight QZ8501 Goes Missing On the Way From Indonesia to Singapore

An AirAsia plane has gone missing amid severe weather above the Java Sea on a flight from Indonesia to Singapore. Indonesian authorities said that flight QZ8501 was last seen on radar just at 6:16am local time and was gone a minute later, about 40 minutes after it took off from the city of Surabaya.

Authorities announced Sunday night that the search had been halted until morning. Tatang Zaenuddin of Indonesia's National Search and Rescue agency, known as the Basarnas, told Reuters the search operation would resume at 6:00am local time on Monday.

AirAsia Indonesia regrets to confirm that QZ8501 from Surabaya to Singapore has lost contact at 07:24hrs this morning — AirAsia (@AirAsia)December 28, 2014

According to the airline, there are 155 passengers on board, with 138 adults, 16 children, and one infant. Also on board are two pilots and five cabin crew members.

AirAsia confirmed the nationalities of the passengers and crew. The majority, 155, are Indonesian. The other passengers include one Singaporean, one Malaysian, one Briton, one French citizen, and three South Koreans.

"We are deeply shocked and saddened by this incident," Sunu Widyatmoko, CEO of AirAsia Indonesia said in a statement. "We are cooperating with the relevant authorities to the fullest extent to determine the cause of this incident. In the meantime, our main priority is keeping the families of our passengers and colleagues informed on the latest developments."

The Foreign Office of the United Kingdom issued a statement saying it confirmed the identity of the one Briton aboard the flight.

"We have been informed by the local authorities that one British national was on board. Their next of kin has been informed, and we stand ready to provide consular assistance."

Indonesian officials identified the pilot as an Indonesian national, Iriyanto, and the co-pilot as Remi Emmanuel Plesel, a French national.

The Jakarta Post is reporting, along with other local media, that a spokesperson with Indonesia's Search and Rescue Agency said the plane suffered extreme turbulence and crashed into the ocean after attempting to avoid a storm.

The spokesperson reportedly provided the approximate co-ordinates for the crash site as 03.22.46 South and 108.50.07 East. No other officials have confirmed this information.

Satellite image around time — James Reynolds (@EarthUncutTV)December 28, 2014

Flightradar24 did not pick up any emergency signals from — Flightradar24 (@flightradar24)December 28, 2014

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore issued a statement confirming it had joined the search, deploying Singaporean navy and air force assets to assist.

"Indonesia has accepted Singapore's offer to assist in the search and locate efforts of the missing Indonesia AirAsia aircraft," read the statement. "The Indonesia AirAsia flight went missing this morning, more than 200 nautical miles southeast of the Singapore-Jakarta Flight Information Region boundary."

Australia and Malaysia have also both offered to assist in the search and rescue operation.

I've spoken to President Widodo tonight to convey Australia's sadness at the — Tony Abbott (@TonyAbbottMHR)December 28, 2014

The airline said in a statement posted on Facebook that the plane was on its submitted flight plan route and requested "deviation due to weather" before losing contact with Indonesia's Air Traffic Control.

Djoko Atmojo, Indonesia's acting Director General of Transportation, addressed media in Jakarta on Sunday afternoon confirming events in the lead up to the disappearance of QZ8501.

He said that at 6:12am the plane made contact with air traffic control, requesting to climb to 38,000 feet because of weather conditions. At 6:16am, Atmojo said, the plane was still on Indonesian radar. Then, at 6:18am, Indonesia lost radar contact with the plane. By now, the plane's reported four-hour fuel supply would be exhausted.

AirAsia said the captain in command has a total of 6,100 flying hours, and the first officer a total of 2,275 flying hours. The plane underwent its last scheduled maintenance November 16, 2014.

Tony Fernandes, the CEO of AirAsia and the chairman of English Premier League football team Queens Park Rangers, has said he is on his way to Indonesia.

On my way to Surabaya where most of the passangers are from as with my Indonesian management. Providing information as we get it.

— Tony Fernandes (@tonyfernandes)December 28, 2014

The sudden disappearance immediately drew comparisons to the unexplained case of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, which vanished on the way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014. After months of searching, all 239 people that were on board Flight 370 are still missing.

Malaysia Airlines expressed solidarity with AirAsia and the missing passengers and crew on QZ8501.

— Malaysia Airlines (@MAS)December 28, 2014

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.

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