indonesia has a lot of experience with air disasters. they have experience with sinking ferries and that kind of thing. so they are actually quite good about, you know, conducting searches like this. also r in piecing together air disasters, they have a very professional team that can actually go and produce very world class reports about exactly what happened in a given situation. so i'm fairly optimistic and confident about their capabilities. >> all right greg. managing editor of flight global. thank you so much for joining us and sharing your insight and perspective. it's much appreciated. >> well, if you were just joining us we want to remind you of the breaking news that flight 8501 and air asia indonesia flight is missing. it has been missing for over six hours now. it took off from indonesia and was on its way to singapore in what is really quite a short flight. it was supposed to have landed in singapore at around 8:20 a.m. local time. that did not happen. right now, the airline is telling us that they don't have a huge amount o

indonesia, well, of course there's an element that indonesia has radar in some parts that is not working. some radars may not be manned. this particular flight, the route you're talking about, it's a well travelled route. i mean you're talking about some serious air traffic control issues here. it would be very surprising if we learned that this plane either was out of contact for any length of time or under the fir, the indonesian 60 wasn't tracking what was happening. >> all right. richa richard quest. do stand by for us because i want to share this with our viewers. look at this. we want to put this up on our screens for you. air asia has quickly updated their company pages on social media. you may notice when we put up the pictures of the air craft with the air asia logos, they were read but when you look at the pages here on social media, both their facebook and twitter page logos previously red to gray. there have been no further updates posted on these pages but we did think it was worth bringing that to you to show that they have made changes to their social media pages. those ai

and as i emphasized, between indonesia -- look at the map. between indonesia and singapore where this plane was going there is strong and good military and civilian radar because this is such a heavily trafrld arily tr. >> and as you talk about it being a heavily traveled area, i don't know if you've been able to check this. were there other aircraft in the skies flying this route at this time? do we know? >> i don't know. but i would imagine -- look, it's coming up to 11:00. it was late at night. if i look at the previous flights of qz 8501 you're looking at sort of a departure and an arrival time late at night. so it leaves at about 10:00 at night. it gets there at midnight. so there will be a certain amount of this late-night pan-asian traffic. and there's a lot more of this traffic. there's been an entire explosion of growth of low-cost carriers. and in fact, air indonesia airasia is a hybrid that's been born out of airasia, batavia, a whole load of other carriers that have formed together ultimately to create this airasia -- indonesia ai

it's 8:14 local time in the evening in indonesia and that's where surabaya in indonesia, the airport there where people are waiting to find out what has happened to this missing flight airasia flight 8501. it was just supposed to be a couple of hours leaving surabaya going to singapore. 45 minutes into that flight is when they lost contact. a pilot did communicate asking to divert the route because of severe weather and then communication was lost. we have been following the story ever since to find out as much as we can about the fate of that plane and the passenger and crew on board. we'll have much more information after a quick break. alright, so this tylenol arthritis lasts 8 hours but aleve can last 12 hours. and aleve is proven to work better on pain than tylenol arthritis. so why am i still thinking about this? how are ya? good. aleve. proven better on pain. ♪ my baby drove up in a brand new cadillac... ♪ ♪ my baby drove up in a brand new cadillac... ♪ ♪ look here, daddy, i'm never coming back... ♪ discover the new spirit of cadillac and the best offers of the sea

the situation right now in indonesia, far different. we know air and sea search has suspended for the night because it is now dark here but at first light the century will resume. one thing we know that's also happening larger ships in the java sea will be turning on their large search lights to keep an eye on the water in the overnight hours here for any debris that may turn up. obviously if a plane came down from a high altitude if there are survivors of course families are holding on to any bit of hope at this point there would be debris something to see on the water and there will be a lot of people looking. certainly overnight and much more in the coming hours in the morning. >> will let's take it back a notch and if you can explain for our viewers what we know about what happened in the final moments of the communication between the pilot and ground control. >> reporter: well it's monsoon season in this part of the world, dana. so planes in this particular area on this particular route from surabaya to singapore almost expected th

the eu has banned all but five of indonesia's airlines. i'm wondering if there's concern that the demand for air travel in indonesia has exceeded the capability airasia accepted perhaps from this. >> indonesia is a wealthy country. last year, their gdp surpassed australia. i remember when i was defense minister minister. indonesia's own gdp has passed australia's. their economic growth is rapid. with it the demand for the sorts of services that tourism opportunities provide. the air links now between the islands is transforming the internals of indonesia. >> but is the government and the regulation is it keeping up with the demand? >> well i have no reason to think that it's not. >> the indonesians are a serious people and they operate a serious government. it's a democratic government now. so it's a government that's constantly being tested. if you're making a mess of your administration there are a lot of people in power who will eat you alive. so there's a pretty -- they have some strength. >> this isn't malaysia. this is a more advance

this is part of indonesia. >> whatever direction the anvil is head. that's the direction the storm is headed. this is a time that we know we last lost contact. it's kind of the shape. this is the anvil, the very top, the cold cloud tops moving towards the flight path. now, we can only assume after taking off did they encounter turbulence with the cold anvil of this and then try to recover before hitting this cluster. another inspection and a closer look at this thunderstorm cell it's pretty interesting. bare with me. this is not the best resolution. this is the visual imaj many questions that still remain. thunderstorm activity possibly where he within the next 24 hours, but into 48 hours, martin it does seem to break up. >> most of it wants to stay over land mass which is very good news. >> rosa flores joins us now, and you've been track it on social media. what are the posts saying? >> a lot of folks around the world wondering how it is that we can track a cell phone down to the block? yet, another plane lost. a lot of folks comparing it to mh-370 s

most of them from indonesia. among them 18 children, 1 infant. people around the world are watching and waiting for any word from the search and rescue crews and during this sunday mass today at the vatican, the pope pope francis, prayed for those crews and for the families of the people who are on board and who are missing. this plane was last tracked over the java sea. take a look at this. we're going to pull up a map to show you the part of the world we're talking about here. the plane took off from surabaya second biggest city in indonesia, destination, singapore, just a two-hour flight away. it never made it. let me bring in les, a captain, and mary schiavo. so, les, let me begin with you. when we talk about the search here and compare it to the search for mh-370 you're talking about a smaller area but still a vast region. >> true. >> what some are saying is that the good news is that this is a region that is heavily trafficked in terms of a shipping route and is relatively shallow. does that help? >> of course it helps. it's going to help w

and indonesia, they have indonesia airasia. that's like a franchise of the main parent. they have the thai unit as well. what this allows them to do is having these units overseas allows them to take advantage of opportunities in these other countries but yet get around some of these restrictions around airport ownership rules. airasia will order planes from airbus and then lease these planes out to these units around the region. >> as you were speaking we just saw the sign there at the singapore airport. it's kind of creepy to see yet another sign that you know that flight there on that board did not land. we remember mh 370 they had put "delayed" on 370 there in the airport in china. here we have qz8501 "go into foe counter." that sounds very formal. but we can tell people we are told that the airline has set up of course a crisis center to help deal with families there in singapore. and we hope that is the case and they are being comforted at had time. let's go back to -- it is really surreal that now we have another airliner based in kuala lumpur same year as mh 370.

paula hancocks for us in indonesia. thank you. >> what was the weather when the plane lost contact with the ground? we have cnn meteorologist pedram javaheri who takes a look at the weather search and rescue and the weather the teams are up against. >> the weather across the java sea finally innmproving. there are storms in the area at the last known point with the aircraft. to the north, partly cloudy. to the south, similar story. when you talk about an area in the wet season december is the wettest time of year. you know storms are blossoming in the next couple days. tuesday into wednesday, storms develop again toward the last point known of contact region. that is where we think more strong storms and gusty winds and reduced visibility is something to be worth noting in the next couple of days. good news is when you take a look at the surface temperatures at java sea, 82 degrees favorite. survival in the waters is a possibility, but the longer time passes the more unlikely scenario that becomes. back to you. >> pedra

it was headed to indonesia from singapore. the plane's final communication, the pilot asked for a higher altitude due to bad wegsather. early indications the plane is at the bottom of the sea. still, ships, planes and helicopters are searching. and families of those on board are anxiously awaiting answers. >>> we are following another breaking news. a rescue from a burning ferry off the coast of italy. nearly 300 passengers taken to safety. 150 others still on board that smoldering ship. rough weather has slowed the rescue efforts here. cnn's elinda labropoulou is here with us. we are talking freezing cold temperatures and very difficult as they try to choreography of helicopters to pluck people off the burning ferry two by two. it is taking a long time. >> reporter: choreography is pretty good way to explain it. the fire broke out 30 hours ago. the first ships trying to approach not long after that. it has been so difficult because of the weather conditions in the area. the operations are underway. two-thirds of passengers ha

let me run you to some of the things that the president of indonesia said. it wasn't a long press conference, but there were some important details. first of all, the confirmation that we knew was coming, that the missing airasia flight has crashed into the java sea off the coast. much of the debris and the bodies that have been found are southwest of the location, the last location that the plane had contact with air traffic control. tomorrow, once the sun is up, ships and helicopters will continue the search. president widodo made mention of singapore, malaysia, and australia, and all the other countries who have helped in this search. the families of the crew and the passengers who are aboard the flight, he said be strong when facing this difficult moment. there was absolutely no discussion of the cause of the crash. he repeatedly said that is all i can say tonight. he did mention that in the area where the debris is found, there have been two to three meter-high waves. suggesting that they could hamper efforts to collect both the bodies of those onboard

. >> and indonesia's top rescue official has a bleak description. he says the plane is most likely in his words at the bottom of the sea. meantime ships and planes from singapore, malaysia and indonesia are searching for any sign of the flight. >> it was traveling to singapore when it went missing with 162 people on board. now the families of the passengers and the crew can only wait hoping for any hint that their parents, their kids spouses, siblings friends, somehow they are still alive. the locker this goes on though the less the chances are that someone will be found alive. >> absolutely. not one sighting of anything of that airplane. 140 of the passengers are from indonesia. airasia has vowed to keep the families informed and help them through this situation, which we've seen these pictures before. we've seen this video before. we're back here again. >> so hauntingly similar to everything we saw, what ten months ago. >> exactly. except for different circumstances, of course nin that cockpit. we have more on the rescue efforts. >> reporter: we'r

others are chepg in to help indonesia in this seven. so incredibly frustrating and so incredibly sad for the people, the victims' families who are gathering here at surabaya. remember 150 of the passengers were indonesians. many live in the second city in indonesia. they have been taken behind closed doors. the frustration is there is just no news not good news not bad news no news at all as to where the plane may be. that is what is really hurting them. they're telling us we just need information. we're getting more information from television than from the authorities here. very, very difficult all round. the information isn't there to pass on at this stage. the families will be briefed this morning once again. and we sit and wait to get some sort of news from the search area. most of the people i spoke to experts in aviation say they will be very, very surprised if there is no news of 8501 within the next 48 hours. >> still, hard questions about whether it went down if it went down in the ocean or on land. thanks very much. >>> pieci

the airbus a-2300 left indonesia 5:30 a.m. local time bound for singapore. and the indonesia air traffic control say that the pilot requested to climb because of storms. almost the entire time the plane is e over water eover water. the family is desperate for what happened. almost all of the passengers were indonesian nationals. there were no americans on. the u.s. is available for assistance if that request comes in. this is ten months after malaysian flight hm-370 is still ongoing ark and there is no trace of that aircraft or the 239 people on board. and rosa is joining us now and you are tracking the social media, and i can imagine what people are saying regarding this flight. >> well, thoughts and prayers are pouring in from all over the world in every corner. people want to express thoughts because of the reminder of mh-360 and people say, i can't believe we lost another a plane in this day and age. we are seeing a number of things marty, but people are going to social media to assimilate information and hopefully to help. i want to show you this statem

let's go back now to indonesia. this is the scene right now with the relatives who are being called into the national search and rescue headquarters to receive the news they probably did not want to hear. this is day three of the search. they have just been told, heard from the head of the national search and rescue that he's 95% certain that the debris, which has been located, is from flight 8501. the reason why he's not 100% certain, because he's not seen it himself. that is the area where this debris was found. it's section five of that debris field. 160,000 square kilometers they were looking at. about the size of greece and they have now narrowed it down because about five hours ago now, an indonesian hercules first spotted debris in the waert. another plane made a passover. then two hours ago another plane took photographs and this is where they are right now. they have spotted an emergency jacket door. life jackets have been seen and a body floating in the water. that was shown on indonesian television. much

indonesia's rescue crew right now. operation crew have 12 swresz ls in the area they have three helicopters, five military aircraft. we're also getting reports from singapore sending us c-130, kuala lumpur malaysia sending a c-130. australia has a ryan aircraft on stand by and of course the seventh fleet from the west. winds if there's any debris possibly if there's a lodge or part of a wing or tail sticking out could get caught on the winds. that's what we're watching and i'm sure everybody else is doing the same. >> thanks for breaking it down for us. it's even tougher in bad weather, good thing it's getting better there for right now. let me bring in the retired lieutenant colonel, he is back with me. also a consultant for the air force on these operations. can you walk us through, colonel, the mechanics of a search and rescue operation now, about 26 hours after this plane has disappeared with improving weather. >> yes, i mean that's always, you know a great start to have good weather. so the crews would be briefing

let me run you to some of the things that the president of indonesia said. it wasn't a long press conference, but there were some important details. first of all the confirmation that we knew was coming that the missing airasia flight has crashed into the java sea off the coast. much of the debris and the bodies that have been found are southwest of the location the last location that the plane had contact with air traffic control. tomorrow, once the sun is up ships and helicopters will continue the search. president widodo made mention of singapore, malaysia and australia, and all the other countries who have helped in this search. the families of the crew and the passengers who are aboard the flight he said be strong when facing this difficult moment. there was absolutely no discussion of the cause of the crash. he repeatedly said that is all i can say tonight. he did mention that in the area where the debris is found, there have been two to three meter-high waves. suggesting that they could hamper efforts to collect both the bodies of those onboard and al

indonesia president is on the way to meet with families. the grim news comes as yous were beginning to wrap up the third day of search and rescue efforts. the u.s. sent the destroyer uss sampleson to assist in the search. indonesia officials agreed to allow families to fly over the area. they tweeted this somber message to the families. >>> joining me now is former corporate pilot anthony roman on the phone. mr. roman, can you tell us what to expect now that night is falling? >> the aircraft have spotlight and other night vision equipment, however, it complicates the search patterns. at this juntture, what they're going to be doing is calculating the current patterns and speed so they can calculate from the current debris field that has been found where it is likely the main body of the wreckage is. now, based on the preliminary reports of the debris and bbc is reporting that six bodies have been found and three have been recovered, it does not offer any clue just yet as to what may have happened to the aircraft. did it break up in flight?

all, in trofldvolved in this in indonesia. will it be the indonesian government who will take the lead. who will? >> the indonesian government has the right to decide. decide who takes the lead. so far there has been no indication there is any turf warfare going on. in terms of the investigation, as to what happened i do think that they will bring in perhaps, well we know that airbus will be coming in as a party to the investigation. so that would -- cause things perhaps the french french version of the ntsb would come in and participate. since they have invited other countries to help. they can set up a multinational investigative body to deter men what happened and toer to erer issue the report. they do also have to being an international flight they do have to follow or they should follow international civil aviation organization guidelines. and that include putting out the preliminary report as soon as they have the information to do it. and cooperating with the nigss swith -- and cooperating with the nations on the plane.

thursday in eastern indonesia. whether you're watching from around the world, thank you for joining us. we begin with the search for more victims of airasia flight 8501. and the search for answers about what caused the plane to crash. right now, weather is slowing the recovery effort. searchers have recovered seven bodies so far, though. the first two arrived in simple wooden caskets with the numbers 001 and 002 on them. the head of the search operation says one of the seven bodies was that of a flight attendant. th

. >> it was carrying 162 people when it left indonesia bound for singapore. this happened around 5:00 eastern last night. indonesian officials say 45 minutes later, the captain asked to fly above 38,000 feet because of bad weather. now minutes later the plane disappeared from radar. they lost contact 75 minutes later. the captain asked to climb above 38,000 feet because of bad weather. now minutes later the plane disappeared from radar. airline officials are saying they lost contact with them at 7:24 eastern. so they wanted the jet for another half hour before losing contact. >> this is an airbus a-2200. it was due to land at 8:30 eastern last night. now searchers are combing the eastern asia area and, of course, the families are desperately waiting for some news. at this time, as i'm sure you know, malaysia airlines went missing as it flew to beijing with 239 people aboard. despite a massive international search, there is still no trace of that aircraft. >> 162 people were onboard that missing plane including seven crew members, passengers were from indonesi

it left indonesia sunday morning around 5:35 local time. indonesian air traffic cholesterolers lost contact with the plane at 7:24 a.m. their time. they con if i wered that. the flight was scheduled to land in singapore at 8:30 a.m. local time. there are 162, as i mentioned, individuals on board. most indonesian. 155 passengers including 16 children and one infant. there are two pilots and five crew members on board. relatives of passengers on the missing flight mh 370 that disappeared nine months ago expressed sympathy to the members of the air asia flight. a man whose mother was on mh 370 said he understands how they feel. another person saying he wished for a miracle for the families of those on board the air asia flight. let's now go to kelly kobaya from the london bureau. >> indonesia is leading the search. it is largely on hold until day break tomorrow, a few hours from now. the founder of asia air, tony fernandez is in indonesia. he met with some of the families. he tweet theed, this is my worst nightmare. he told the families he's p

president joe cowidodo said indonesia will mobilize every means to find the plane. he said the search will expand with the help of more countries. the airasia flight went missing between the islands of kalimantan and belitung after taking off from surabaya. the weather was bad when the plane lost contact. former japan airlines pilot say many large storm clouds develop this time of year between indonesia and the malay peninsula. >> translator: the plane might have flown into storm clouds, and that triggered a mishap. i assume the pilot could have failed to regain his position after the plane was rocked violently in the clouds, where there were vertical torrents of air. >> families and friends of those on board have been waiting to learn the whereabouts of their loved ones at the airport in surabaya. they say they're frustrated at the lack of information. >>> more than 400 people have been rescued from a ferry fire disaster in the adriatic sea but authorities in italy said they have confirmed at least eight people dead. the blaze started sunday morning after the ship

most of the passengers are indonesia. loved ones began gathering at and airport in indonesia waiting to get an update. air asia is a malaysia based airlines. back in march flight 370 went missing, soon after, taking off from kuala lumpur for beijing. it still has not been found. now white house officials a say president obama has been breached on the latest incident and will continue to monitor the situation. we're live from the sat center i'm syma chowdhry for cbs-3 "eyewitness news". >>> all right, same, thank you. >>> new this morning two people are rush to the hospital, after a car accident in northeast philadelphia's lawncrest neighborhood. it happened in the 700 block have of knor street just before 3:00. up investigators tell us that the car was traveling fast when it hit a pillar of the house and flipped over. one person is in critical condition and the other is in stable condition. >>> well, thousands line the streets to honor new york city police officer rafael ramos. many police officers from our area made the

indonesia is a country with around 250 million to put that into context. america has up to 30 million. america spends $538 million on defense. indonesia spends $8 billion on defense. this is why you see the global community rallying around. everyone in the global community is sending military assets military capability to the search area to assist the indonesia begans which have a relatively small military capability. >> hopefully they'll continue through the night but it makes -- as you're saying 100 times more difficult than the daylight hours. mikey kay, thank you so much for your expertise. again, we'll be joining back with you as we go throughout the morning here as we continue to get developments on-air asia flight 8501. >>> new breaking news we'll bring you that. as the sun gets redady to set in indonesia. so you're looking for a loan? how's your credit? i know i have an 810 fico score, thanks to the tools and help on experian.com. and your big idea is hot dogs shaped like hamburgers? nope. hamburgers shaped like hot dogs. that's not really in our w

a shocked day for indonesia considering 150 of those 155 passengers plus the seven crew from indonesia. >> a man whose country is in mourning. no question. thank you, andrew stevens. we will let you get back to the scene. >> let's look at the spot where the debris was found six miles or so from the point of last radar contact. our meteorologist pedram javaheri joins us with the conditions there. pedram. >> guys six miles. andrew said we have inside an hour to work with when it comes to daylight. the debris field located within a weak eddy current. it is rotating 13 miles per day based on my data here based on ocean current. we know the pilot made a call for a left turn because of the thunderstorm at 35,000. it tried to climb at 38,000 feet. it was not given clearance. this goes off radar at 7:40 a.m. local time sunday morning. this is the last location of the weak eddy current. debris rowtated 32 miles in the past two and a half days. here is the debris field related to this which is the current satellite perspective. thunderstorms south of the area. reduced visibility. some gusty wind

. >> let's begin with that urgent search under way off the coast of indonesia for any sign of that missing flight and the 162 people on board. >> indeed. 162 people on board, their families of course going through a desperate time. but right now in indonesian search and rescue officials say they believe the jet is at the bottom of the sea. >> this is families anxiously awaiting news on the fate of their loved ones. here is what we know right now. ships, helicopters, planes from several countries are going to be taking part in this search. >> that comes some 28 hours after the airasia plane disappeared on route to singapore. >> shortly before communication was lost the captain of the plane asked for a change in altitude because of bad weather. there were a lot of thunderstorms in the area. the ceo of air asia, says they are focused on the relatives of those on board. >> very devastated by what's happened. it's unbelievable. but we do not know what's happened yet. so we'll wait for the accident investigation to maybe find out what's happened. our concern right now is for the relatives and fo

. >> this is a live look where indonesia's president is set to speak. we have more on what they did find overnight. >> good morning air asia has put out a statement only in the last few minutes confirming to the debris found is from the missing plane. since it was discovered just a few hours ago an indonesian navy vessel has been recovering bodies. reuters reporting that at least 40 have been retrieved so far. the debris and remains were found in the giant sea of the island close to the plane's last known location. >> the announcement on indonesian television searches spotted what appeared to be bodies floating in the java sea. teams have been frantically looking for the missing air asia plane that disappeared sunday with 162 people onboard. this morning indonesian officials say a shadow under the water could be the plane. searchers also discovered life jackets and emergency door and other debris. >> i declare there is a 95% chance judging from the location we've searched and location of the did he he brie, we assume that it came from the plane. >> fami

most of them are from indonesia. 149 passengers from indonesia, three from south korea and one from malaysia. here's another thing that we're hearing. look at this tweet because we're also learning that a uk energy executive was on board. and the power company that you see tweeting this out. search operations have resumed this morning. we extend our thoughts to choi chi man's family during this very difficult time. now, the pilot and the crew, we're also learning more about them. their families are also waiting. we have video of the pilot, pictures of the pilot and video of his family waiting. it's a difficult, agonizing wait, jake. and i've got to tell you that from talking to this principal in surabaya, she is just heartbroken. she says it's very difficult for them to wait, to hear nothing when all that they are hoping for is good news. and, of course, you and i know that at this hour it's not looking very good for them. >> rosa, has the airline been in touch with these families in any way? >> you know, the ceo, tony fernandez, has been very vocal on twitter and on social media. asiaair be

the airliner took off sunday morning local time from indonesia indonesia's second largest city. it was about halfway to singapore, 42 minutes into the flight, when it disappeared into the radar. now, the questions of what and how it happened. hello, everyone, welcome to america's news headquarters. >> 162 passengers and crew on board that flight. including 16 children. and one infant. most of them are indonesian and right now, their loved ones are in agony waiting for answers. let's go to will carr with the latest. will? >> well, those families desperately hoping to get those answers as the search resumes come daylight. right now, they're at a crisis center in west indonesia where they have been getting updates throughout the night. now, the majority of the passengers on the plane are from that region. and authorities are still trying to figure out exactly what happened. the air asia flight lost contact with air traffic control early saturday morning, but before communications were lost, one of the patients asked for higher altitude to avoid bad weather. >> everything that the p

we are awaiting official word from investigators in indonesia. this discovery comes as hundreds of search crews have been endlessly scouring waters for any sign of wreckage. several pieces of debris have been spotted in the sea. debris need to be examined to confirm if it is related to the missing air asia plane. as news spread that bodies have been pulled from the water, family members of the 162 passengers on board flight 5801 sat together they watched graphic details unfold on television. many screamed, broke down. one man collapsed and was russia way on the stretcher. plane disappeared sunday morning on its way from indonesia to singapore after it encountered bad weather. pilot requested to alter his route. he was denied because of air traffic in the area moments later, radar contact is lost, in distress call was ever made. so again routers new reporting as many as 40 bodies have been pulled from indonesia waters. in word on the possibility of any survivors. chris and dawn there thanks, jen. >>> police say a mix of alcohol and speed may have

today, we found debris indonesia's search and rescue chief said. we confirm they are 100% parts of the air asia planes. families traumatized of bloated bodies of loved ones. their grief was overpowering. one after another fainted. medical teams doing their best to console the inconsolable. here, a woman is told that searchers have found debris and bodies. >> oh, they have? i'm still hopeful for the miracle. >> reporter: at the airport, body bags were loaded up. the mystery disappearance of flight 8501 now a recovery effort. much of the wreckage believed to be at the bottom of the sea. so far, seven bodies have been found. four men and three women. one flight attendant still in uniform. none appear to be wearing life vests. >> so, there are a couple things that could be deduced from finding human remains with no life jackets on. one is that whatever happened happened very quickly. it was not a prepared ditching. or the other thing is the airplane might have come apart in midair and the wind blast from people falling through space would have taken wh

the jets sdisappeared on sunday morning during a flight from surabaya in indonesia to singapore. we know that 162 people were onboard. since this story began, our correspondent clive myrie has been covering this and we can join clive now here on bbc news in surabaya. >> good evening to you. it's 6:00 in the evening. the sun is beginning to set on what is a momentous day in the investigation on what happened to that airasia flight taking off from here to singapore early on sunday. frankly, over the last couple of days have had a faint flicker of hope that they may see their loved ones again. that the plane somehow crash landed somewhere. that they were injured, but that they were perhaps still alive. those hopes have been dashed. their worst fears have now been realized. the authorities say that they're now 95% certain that a number of pieces of debris found in the java sea belong to that aircraft. possibly a door with a distinctive red and white logo of the colors of airasia. an evacuation chute as well. and significantly, of course a number of bodies. so far the authorities are

yes, it's regulated by indonesia. but as an airline, indonesia airasia is part of the airasia group. and that's tony fernandez, that's in malaysia. that's the whole group. it's got subsidiaries around the region. they have a total of 170 aircraft. yes, there have certainly be legitimate safety concerns about indonesian carriers. but i wouldn't put airasia in any shape, form or description into that category. >> fair enough. richard quest, thank you so much. >>> turning now to politics, a top member of the republican leadership in the house of representatives is defending a speech that he gave to a white supremacist group back in 2002. what could that fallout mean for his future, for the republican congress? that's just ahead. man (sternly): seriously? where do you think you're going? mr. mucus: to work, with you. it's taco tuesday. man: you're not coming. i took mucinex to help get rid of my mucusy congestion. mr. mucus: oh, right then i'll swing by in like 4 hours... just set aside a few tacos for me. man: forget the

malaysia and indonesia. it holds a 49% stake in its indonesian affiliate. >> the missing plane is an airbus a 320. they have a fleet of 30 of them. >> we take a look at the history with airlines around the world. >> worldwide, more than 3600 airbus 320s are flown by more than 400 airlines, charter companies and private entities. eight american carriers combined have more than 450 a320s in their fleet, amongst the biggest, jet blue with 190. delta and u.s. airways, 69 each. in the short to heed yum range world, the a320 is second only to boeing 737, which has delivered nearly 8,000 of its ultra-popular medium-sized planes. the family includes the a318, 319, and 321. one of its family is taking off or landing somewhere in the world. the missing plane was delivered to airasia in 2008. since then, the airline says it has taken off some 13,600 times, logging approximately 23,000 hours in the air. airasia 8501 was carrying enough fuel for three hours of flight. shortly before disappearing, the pilot asked if he co

indonesia air traffic controllers lost contact with that plane at 7:24 a.m. now, the flight had been scheduled to land in singapore at 8:30 a.m. local time. live picture now from the singapore airport where a help center was set up for the families. three south koreans, one person from singapore, one from malaysia. 16 of those onboard are children. there was also at least one infant. air asia is a regional low cost carrier with presence in several southeast asian countries. president obama has been briefed on the situation. the ntsb is monitoring the search and stands ready to help if requested. katie tur is joining me on the phone. i know you got there a short time ago. what can you tell us? >> reporter: everything that you just covered, alex. we're standing outside of this relative holding center. there's about 47 friends and family inside. they are distraught but they've been sheltered from the media and currently they are getting what little information that officials have to give them. as you said, this happened around 7:24 local time this morning and ri

manera de ayudar a indonesia. los familiares y amigos de los pasajeros esperan desconsolados saber noticias de sus seres queridos en los centros de emergencia. debÍa reunirse con su prometido. pero nunca llegÓ. >> se suponÍa que serÍan Últimas vacaciones antes de casarnos. >> los grupos de busqueda encontraron rastro de aceite 700 mil donde se tuvo contacto. pero cuando vieron las muestras no pertenecÍan a este. >> fue hoy cuando se confirmÓ que el piloto pidiÓ un cambio de ruta por las tormentas elÉctricas. quÉ sucediÓ. >> efectivamente, se confirmÓ y se dio a conocer pidiÓ el cambio de ruta, se le fue negado, porque habÍa aviones volando. unos 6 aviones en ese momento. >> gracias. tenemos entendido que cuando finalmente pues se dio la aprobaciÓn de cambio de ruta era dado tarde. >> un aviÓn que iba a las vegas aterrizÓ de emergencia por falla en el tren de aterrizaje. la nave que venÍa de inglaterra con 462 personas dio vuelta una hora antes de descender. las autoridades informaron que los pasa

. >>> fox urgent, is it now mourning time in indonesia good evening, everyone. the airliner vanishing with 162 passengers and crew on board it disappeared off radar a little bit less than halfway on it's route to singapore. just a half hour earlier, the pilots made a request to air traffic control asking for a new flight plan to go over the clouds. families have gathered in indonesia and singapore desperately awaiting any new details on the fate of the plane and their loved ones. >> we are very surprised and very sad, our grandchild was going to singapore for a holiday, but the accident happened. you know it's a plane accident, i only ask god for a miracle. i hope not only my family will be saved, but everyone on board. >> david picher is live in bangkok thailand with the very latest. david, what is the latest? >> reporter: yes, well as you can see, dawn has broken monday morning here in asia we are 12 hours ahead of new york city, and as expected, the air search has are resumed now, it was suspended overnight because of bad weather but we understand that planes

families are gathering in surabaya and indonesia. airasia set up special counselling centers for them. but the problem is they have no information. it's really frustrating. i've spoken to a few people involved in this operation. it's very frustrating that nobody really knows what happened. after the last contact, there was nothing else. no sign of transponders or any other locating devices on this plane like the flight in march. >> terry, thank you for the very latest. we'll have much more as this story develops and perhaps there are chances that this plane will be found sooner because if it did go down it went down in water in the java sea that's much shallower than the previous malaysia flight so that's still to come. daylight coming bin 40 minutes from now. >>> there are many factors to consider in the mysterious disappearance of airasia flight 8501 especially so early in the search and investigation. do you believe lieutenant general that turbulence brought the plane down? >> i'm hypothesizing because we don't know. but clearly a

flight 85 on 1 left indonesia at 5:30 in the morning local time bound for singapore. the jet had 162 people on board, including 18 children with a crew of seven. officials have left some ships in the water to comb the area off indonesia for that plane. officials say seven ships and two helicopters will search for the plane. heavy storms had been reported in the area just when that jet vanished. indonesian officials say the pilot requested to fly at higher altitude because of bad weather. the incident comes just ten months after air flight 370 vanished on its way to beijing with 239 people on board. joining me by skype our aviation correspondent richard quest. r than life. he is gregarious charming wit where i. is he everything you really expect from an airline ceo. i think what you see in the last few hours is how he has risen to that. his concern -- he said quite clearly, it's not what happened, it's for the next of kin for those on board, for the crew members' family and he said specifically i will be there for you. here we have a ceo. you know very much in the same

chest high water over several river banks and landslide in indonesia. on top of that here's where we expect the plane, look at the thunderstorm doesn't look like much but we're going to capture this image and give you a better idea. this is a super cell thunderstorm. we believe is about 53 maybe 55,000 feet. they're flying at 32. this is about 300 miles as the crows fly, for international viewers, about 490 kilometers from surabaya to where we lost contact. not sure we do know that of course they mentioned the pilot mentioned whether issues -- weather issues. possible turbulence. where you have the higher cloud top, there's an upsurge in the movement of the air mass. if you hit clear air, you can get icing and downdrafts maybe trying to recover just in time to hit that cluster of storms. the better picture though and this is great news we haven't seen this in days. subpoena that we're starting to see clearing where the possible loss location of this. notice all the blue from bird's eye view you're seeing the surface of the java sea. one to 200 feet in d

singapore and indonesia are sending planes but indonesia's top official has a grim expectation. >> translator: if the target is on land it is easier than an underwater location. because of the coordinates we've received the presumption is that the aircraft is under the sea. >> has to be so hard for these families to hear words like that. they hope, they wait for any word that could be positive about their loved ones. airasia ceo met privately with some of the families in indonesia. he has made it clear the relatives are the airline's main concern, but right now all they can do is wait. >> let's go to cnn's paula hancocks. she joins us from nooetsz where some of the operations are being launched. for now they say it is under the sea, has that refocused the search efforts? >> reporter: i just spoke to the first marshal in charge of the operation here on this island. and he said at this stage they haven't managed to narrow down the search. he basically said it is still very random. he gave us an area that is being looked at at this point, 240 by 240 nautical miles, so an immense area. it is bein

we're just hearing an update from officials in indonesia. earlier they said they were 95% certain this was the plane. >> now they are 100% certain. the debris spotted just ten kilometers from the plane's last known position and disturbing images broadcast on indonesian television, which all the relatives got to see, and that was a number of floating bodies. >> family members of those 162 passengers on the flight got that news a short time ago. the airline ceo tweeted his condolences saying "my heart is full of sadness." >> and that is the sad news from indonesia. you are watching cnn. >> "early start" is coming up next. >> announcer: this is cnn breaking news. >> breaking news this morning, debris spotted in the search for missing airasia flight 8501. investigators say they are 95% certain it is part of the vanished jetliner. the families of the 162 people on board reeling this morning from the news. we have live team coverage breaking down the latest on the big story that begins right now. good morning. welcome to "early start." i'm john be

but it's a short flight from indonesia to singapore, even allowing for fuel. so this is going to be martin the focus of attention. but this is down the road. the first thing they've got to do is get the assets on the ground the planes the ships to find the wreckage and then of course course as we remember from 370, martin the search for the black boxes. >> let me ask you this, when we talk of airbus we think of airbus 447. we know it was an airbus 330, but could there be something similar? >> reporter: yes, of course. because you basically have two aircraft that with a very catastrophic incident at the safest point of the flight which is in flight. it is very unusual for things to happen other than that nefarious activity there's absolutely no question of that at to the moment. so you are looking at those situations where either something happens to the airplane or the aircraft or you're looking at how the plane was being flown. and, yes, 447 is a textbook example of the way in which an incident happened the pilots responded in a particular way, and there was

to have gone down in waters off of indonesia. and we're getting reports from the local reporters that are actually up in some of these planes that they're hovering about 500 meters above the water which will give them a good visual view of the area that they're sergearching to look for debris. the visual search as the sun is now out here is really crucial. all that you keep thinking about as the search goes under way are the families of those 162 people. and there are families of 154 people here in china, poppy, who know exactly what they're going through. passengers on mh-370 who are still missing right now. and this is the front page of the local papers here and reading the stories of the family members of mh-370 who are now closely watching this search yet again. it's heartbreaking. people are sobbing as they watch television because it brings them back to that day in march, march 8th when mh-370 disappeared. and to think that it is happening again during this week which is supposed to be a time of celebration, a lot of these

todaday, we found debris indonesia's search and rescue chief said. we confirm they are 100% parts of the air asia planes. families traumatized of bloated bodies of loved ones. their grief was overpowering. one after another fainted. medical teams doing their best to console the inconsolable. here, a woman is told that searchers have found debris and bodies. >> oh, they have? i'm still hopeful for the miracle. >> reporter: at the airport, body bags were loaded up. the mystery disappearance of flight 8501 now a recovery effort. much of the wreckage believed to be at the bottom of the sea. so far, seven bodies have been found. four men and three women. one flight attendant still in uniform. none appear to be wearing life vests. >> so, there are a couple things that could be deduced from finding human remains with no life jackets on. one is that whatever happened happened very quickly. it was not a prepared ditching. or the other thing is the airplane might have come apart in midair and the wind blast from people falling through space would have taken wh

the plane vanishing from radar in route from indonesia to singapore on sunday. the president of indonesia expected to address the most recent findings in just a few minutes. let's get right to david kipper who has the latest. >> indonesian officials say search teams recovered several bodies from the sea close to where the plane went missioning. they seem certain objects seen floating in the sea are from the plane. indonesia search and rescue agency chief was quoted as saying he was 95 percent certain the objects were from the plane that went missing two-days ago. these pictures just released to show parts of an aircraft. one seems to show an aircraft exit door that is red white the colors of the air bus. another a life jacket one indonesian official was quoted as saying the bodies recovered didn't have life jackets on. the search plane spotted a shadow in the water which could be the remains of the plane. divers are now at that location. the air and see search has been focusing on an area about halfway into the flight of the airasia jet sunday morning local time