Aircraft Has Not Responded To ATC Contact While Over Java Sea

An AirAsia Airbus A320, carrying the registration number PK-AXC, is now the subject of a search after it failed to check in with Air Traffic services, Sunday, some 42 minutes after departure.

The flight originated in the Indonesian city of Surabaya and was enroute to Singapore. Some 162 passengers are reported to have been on board the aircraft and some media reports indicate that the aircraft requested a change from its (then) current flight profile, possibly as a result of weather.

According to Indonesian Transport Ministry official Hadi Mustofa, AirAsia Flight QZ 8501 failed to respond to contact attempts by Jakarta ATC at 0617 (1817 EST). The aircraft is an Airbus 320-200. Media reports suggest that the passenger contained 149 Indonesians, three Koreans, and one person (each) from Singapore, Britain and Malaysia.

The Singapore aviation authority has reported that, "...Search and rescue operations have been activated by the Indonesian authorities." 

AirAsia is a low-budget carrier based in Kuala Lumpur and is not specifically affiliated with other Asian airlines that have been plagued by a number of high-profile accidents/incidents, including the disappearance of Malaysia Air MH370 and the shootdown of MH17 over the Ukraine. AirAsia's website notes that the airline started, "in 2001 with 2 old aircraft, having bought the then loss making AirAsia from its Malaysian owner DRB-Hicom, for a token of MYR1 (USD0.25 cents) and MYR40 million (USD11 million) in debt."

FMI: http://www.airasia.com/