Bodies, Debris from Missing AirAsia Plane Pulled from Sea off Indonesia

Bodies, Debris from Missing AirAsia Plane Pulled from Sea off Indonesia  http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/30/us-indonesia-airplane-idUSKBN0K601C20141230

(Reuters) – Indonesian rescuers searching for an AirAsia plane carrying 162 people pulled bodies and wreckage from the sea off the coast of Borneo on Tuesday   prompting relatives of those on board watching TV footage to break down in tears.

Indonesia AirAsia’s Flight QZ8501, an Airbus A320-200, lost contact with air traffic control early on Sunday during bad weather on a flight from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore.

The navy said 40 bodies had been recovered. The plane has yet to be found.

About 30 ships and 21 aircraft from Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and the United States have been involved in the search. 

The plane, which did not issue a distress signal, disappeared after its pilot failed to get permission to fly higher to avoid bad weather because of heavy air traffic, officials said.

It was traveling at 32,000 feet (9,753 meters) and had asked to fly at 38,000 feet, officials said earlier.

Pilots and aviation experts said thunderstorms, and requests to gain altitude to avoid them, were not unusual in that area.  

REUTERS

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