AirAsia flight QZ8501 carrying 162 passengers went missing

AirAsia flight number QZ8501 went missing with 162 people on board en route from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore on 28 December 2014.

Flight 8501 (Airbus A320-200) lost contact with the air traffic control in Indonesian airspace (over the Java Sea) after pilots requested a change of flight plan due to bad weather. The pilot was not allowed to alter course.

Actions taken to search the missing flight
Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia have launched a search-and-rescue operation near Belitung Island in the Java Sea after the plane went missing. The search operation includes 12 navy ships, five planes, three helicopters and a number of warships.

This is the third incident of the year 2014 in which the Malaysia based carrier has suffered. The two other incidents include
• Still-unexplained disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 (239 passengers and crew no report about them) in March 2014
• Downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 (all 298 on board died) in July 2014 over Ukraine