By Joko Hariyanto And I Made Sentana
JAKARTA, Indonesia--An AirAsia plane with about 160 passengers
and crew lost contact with air traffic control Sunday around eight
minutes after it took off from Surabaya, Indonesia, on a flight to
Singapore, Indonesian Transportation Ministry spokesman J.A. Barata
said.
AirAsia Indonesia confirmed on its Facebook page that contact
was lost with flight QZ8501 at 07:24 local time.
"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 airline said on Facebook.
"Search and rescue operations are in progress and AirAsia is
cooperating fully and assisting the rescue service," it said.
The aircraft was an Airbus A320-200, the airline added.
Airbus said on Twitter: "We have been informed of an event and
all efforts are now going towards assessing the situation."
Ignatius Bambang Tjahjono, president of state-owned AirNav
Indonesia, which provides air navigation services, said the plane
took off at 5:32 a.m. local time (Western Indonesia time). He said
it was cruising at 32,000 feet and at 6:12 a.m., it contacted
traffic control at Jakarta's airport to say it was moving left from
the flight path and rising to 38,000 feet to avoid a cloud. At 6:16
a.m. the plane was still appearing on the radar, he said. At 6:18
a.m. it disappeared from radar.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore said in a statement
that Flight QZ8501 was scheduled to arrive in Singapore at 08:30
local time. It also said that search and rescue operations have
been activated by the Indonesian authorities and that Singapore has
offered to help.
"Two C130s are already on standby for this purpose. We remain
ready to provide any assistance to support the search and rescue
effort," the statement said. A waiting area has been set up for
relatives and friends of the affected passengers at Changi Airport
Terminal 2.
The Airbus Group NV A320 operated by AirAsia is a modern and
reliable workhorse and is the sole aircraft type operated by the
low-cost airline and its associate operations which are based in
several southeast Asian nations, including Indonesia. AirAsia is
one of the largest operators of the type in the world and holds
orders for hundreds more jets from Airbus. The carrier operates its
A320s in a single-class arrangement with 180 seats, the maximum
allowed.
Indonesia's airlines are purchasing new aircraft at a rate that
greatly outpaces demand from the rest of the world's airlines and
are among the biggest customers for both Boeing Co. and Airbus
jets. The archipelago nation has relied heavily on aircraft
purchasing to connect its islands, which span longer than the
contiguous U.S.
Jon Ostrower contributed to this article.
Write to I Made Sentana at I-Made.Sentana@wsj.com
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