An AirAsia flight QZ 8501, an Airbus 320-200, with 162 people on board lost contact with Djakarta air traffic control tower at 6:17 EST after the pilots asked to change coarse to avoid bad weather during a flight from Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore. It was stilll under the control of Indonesian air traffic. No distress signals were sent. The airline and Indonesian air force have launched search and rescue operation. Singapore has said it has activated air force and navy to help. Indonesian AirAsia is 49 percent owned by Malaysian-based AirAsia. The aircraft had been flying at 32,000 feet and had asked to fly at 38,000 feet to avoid clouds. The plane had been due in Singapore at 8:30 a.m. (00:30 GMT). The airline said the captain and the first officer both were experienced. Neither Malaysia's nor any of its affiliates in Indonesia, Thailand, Phillipines and India had any major accidents or crashes.
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