A massive sea search began Sunday morning after an AirAsia Airbus A320-200 disappeared during a flight from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore, shortly after the pilots requested a change of flight plan because of weather, the airline said.
Flight QZ8501, which had 162 people on board, lost contact with air traffic control at 7:24 a.m. Sunday local time near Belitung Island, Indonesia, according to a statement from AirAsia. It was scheduled to land in Singapore at 8:30 a.m. local time.
The plane was several hours past the time when its fuel would have been exhausted, Indonesian officials said during a news conference Sunday.