What we know about AirAsia flight QZ8501

What we know

• Air traffic controllers lost contact with AirAsia flight QZ8501, traveling from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore.
• Debris and bodies were found in the Karimata Strait of the Java Sea on Tuesday, and officials confirmed they came from the plane.



Debris spotted in the area, believed to come from the missing plane. (BAY ISMOYO/AFP/Getty Images)

• The flight lost contact at 6:17 a.m. local time on Sunday, roughly 42 minutes after taking off from Surabaya. It was projected to last around two hours.

Map showing flight path of #AirAsia #QZ8501 and where debris from it was found http://t.co/DUkeNnqsz2 pic.twitter.com/YQiGpBvZgb

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) December 30, 2014

• The plane, an Airbus A320-200, was carrying 155 passengers (including 15 children and one infant) and seven crew members. The passenger total includes 149 Indonesians, three Koreans, one Singaporean, one British person, and one Malaysian.
• The plane lost contact with air traffic control somewhere between Kalimantan and Belitung island.

What we don't know

• What caused the accident. Right now, it's believed that weather played a role, as there were severe thunderstorms in the flight area. Indonesian transport officials said that before losing contact, the flight's pilot requested permission to take an alternate route to avoid storms, and also requested rise from 32,000 feet to 34,000 feet, but the plane never ascended.
• Where the main body of the aircraft is. Officials believe it's likely located on the ocean floor, which could help explain why no signals from the plane's Emergency Locator Transmitter have been detected.

Indonesia AirAsia #QZ8501 was flying at 32000 feet over Java Sea when ADS-B signal was lost pic.twitter.com/Xqy2lDkRnJ

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) December 28, 2014

This story has been updated to reflect ongoing developments.

We're here to shed some clarity

One of our core beliefs here at Vox is that everyone needs and deserves access to the information that helps them understand the world, regardless of whether they can pay for a subscription. With the 2024 election on the horizon, more people are turning to us for clear and balanced explanations of the issues and policies at stake. We’re so grateful that we’re on track to hit 85,000 contributions to the Vox Contributions program before the end of the year, which in turn helps us keep this work free. We need to add 2,500 contributions this month to hit that goal. Will you make a contribution today to help us hit this goal and support our policy coverage? Any amount helps.

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via