AirAsia flight QZ8501: Plane likely at bottom of sea; air traffic controllers rejected pilot's request to fly higher
Updated today at 05:30 PM
JAKARTA - The AirAsia Indonesia plane which went missing en route to Singapore is likely at the bottom of the sea, Indonesia's National Search and Rescue Agency chief said on Monday, as reports surfaced that the pilot had requested to fly at a higher altitude because of bad weather but was turned down as there was another plane flying at that height.

"Based on the coordinates given to us and evaluation that the estimated crash position is in the sea, the hypothesis is the plane is at the bottom of the sea," AFP quoted Bambang Soelistyo as saying at a press conference.

He said Indonesia did not have "the tools", such as submersible vehicles, required to retrieve the plane from the seabed, but it is reaching out to other countries for help, according to AFP. "I have coordinated with our foreign minister so we will borrow from other countries which have offered. They are the UK, France and US," he said.

Flight QZ8501 with 162 people on board went missing early Sunday morning over the Java Sea between the islands of Belitung and Borneo, a heavily travelled shipping channel with shallow waters, according to Indonesian authorities who are leading the search and locate operations. It was flying from Surabaya towards Singapore.



Before the plane lost contact with air traffic controllers, one of the pilots had asked to fly at a higher altitude because of bad weather.

The Transportation Ministry's acting director-general for air transportation Djoko Murjatmodjo said on Sunday that the plane was initially flying at 32,000 feet. But the pilot contacted air traffic control in Jakarta at 6.12 am local time, requesting to fly at a higher altitude of 38,000 feet and to deviate to the left side of its route - route M635 - in an effort to avoid clouds.

"Air traffic control granted the request to deviate to the left side, but refused the request to fly higher because of air traffic," he was quoted as saying by the Jakarta Post.

Another Indonesian newspaper, Kompas, quoted Murjatmodjo as saying there was another plane flying at that height.

The air traffic tower lost contact with the plane shortly after that.

The plane had 155 passengers and seven crew members. There were 155 Indonesians, one Singaporean, one Malaysian, one French, one British and three South Koreans.



Search areas divided into seven sectors

The multi-nation search and locate operation resumed on Monday at 6am (7am Singapore time).

Mr Bambang told The Straits Times in the central operation room in Jakarta that there were two search areas.

The first one lies towards a sea area between Belitung island and south-western part of Kalimantan, and measures 120 nautical miles by 240 nautical miles.

The second search area is between western part of Kalimantan and Bangka island and is about 180 nautical miles by 150 nautical miles. Bangka island is north-west of Belitung island.

The total search area has been divided into seven sectors - with Indonesian Armed Forces planes focusing their efforts in three areas, and aircraft from Malaysia and Singapore in another two areas each, according to a chart from Basarnas.

Mr Bambang said Pangkal Pinang on Bangka island will be the tactical operational base for all search efforts.

Multi-nation search operation

Australia on Monday joined the Indonesia-led search. A Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) AP-3C Orion took off from the northern city of Darwin early Monday to join the operation, the Australian Defence Force said.

Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said Malaysia had deployed six assets - three vessels and three aircraft - for the search operation.

Singapore deployed another C-130 plane at noon on Monday to help with the search and locate mission. One aircraft took off earlier from Paya Lebar Airbase at 6.30am on Monday together with a group of volunteer spotters from the RSAF. It is understood the aircraft is searching a square area of 40 nautical miles by 40 nautical miles.

The United States, Britain, South Korea, China and India also offered help ranging from planes and navy ships to experts and investigators.

"We have focused all our strength, from the search and rescue agency, the military, police and help from the community as well as the fishermen," said Mr Bambang.

Mr Murjatmodjo said on Sunday that the transport ministry had also asked the army to carry out ground searches, including in mountainous areas, for traces of the plane.



Distraught relatives await news

Distraught relatives of the missing passengers spent the night in Surabaya hoping for news of their loved ones. Security was tight at the airport crisis centre in Surabaya, with dozens of security officers and soldiers seen standing guard.

Vicky, whose two siblings were on the plane, said he was upset to hear an airline official said he joined in their "sadness".

"What he said was not appropriate at all. If they were sad it means there's death. But the flight has not been found yet," he said.

The aircraft was operated by AirAsia Indonesia, a unit of Malaysian-based AirAsia which dominates Southeast Asia's booming low-cost airline market.

AirAsia's boss Tony Fernandes, a former record industry executive who acquired the then-failing airline in 2001, headed to Surabaya where most of the passengers are from.

"Obviously this is a massive shock to us and we are devastated by what has happened. It's unbelievable," he told a press conference. "We don't want to speculate. We don't know what's happened yet so we'll wait for the accident investigation. Our concern right now is for the relatives and the next of kin."

He was at the airport trying to comfort the families, but the airline could offer little besides food, a hotel for the night and assurances that all was being done to find the lost plane.

"We've been given accommodation from AirAsia but I couldn't rest with this on my mind," said one man who gave his name as Haryanto and who has four relatives on board. He said he had been waiting at the airport for 10 hours.

Indonesia's President Joko Widodo said his nation was "praying for the safety" of those onboard.

Indonesia to review Indonesia AirAsia operations

Meantime, Indonesia will review the operations of Indonesia AirAsia.

"We will review AirAsia Indonesia to make sure its performance can be better in the future," Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan told reporters on Monday.

"Much will be reviewed in terms of its business operations and in terms of air transportation business, so that there are safety improvements."

The airline, which has never suffered a fatal accident, said the missing jet last underwent maintenance on Nov 16.

Indonesia AirAsia chief executive Sunu Widyatmoko said: "We are deeply shocked and saddened by this incident."

"We are cooperating with the relevant authorities to the fullest extent to determine the cause of this incident."

The airline said on Sunday that the captain and first officer were both experienced. The captain in command had a total of 6,100 flying hours and the first officer a total of 2,275 flying hours, said the airline.

Airbus said the plane was a six-year-old A320-200 that had carried out some 13,600 flights or a total of about 23,000 flight hours.

The Airbus A320-200 is a twin-engine, single-aisle aircraft that can seat up to 180 passengers in a single-class configuration. the manufacturer said in a statement.