US monitors missing AirAsia situation

The United States has expressed concern at disappearance from the radar screen of an AirAsia flight in South East Asia and also said that it is monitoring the situation. Washington’s concern came after an Airbus A320-200 of AirAsia with 162 people on board went missing in some places between Indonesia’s east Java and Singapore at some times between 5:25am and 8:25am (0030 GMT) on Sunday. The Flight 8501 left Juanda international airport in Surabaya in east Java at 5:20am on Sunday and had been expected to arrive in Singapore around 8:30am (0030 GMT). White House spokesman Eric Schultz said that President Barack Obama was briefed on the matter. ‘The President has been briefed on AirAsia Flight 8501 and White House officials will continue to monitor the situation,’ said Schultz. Malaysia-based AirAsia said the pilot of the Flight QZ8501 had requested ‘deviation’ from the its flight plan because of bad weather, and that a search and rescue operation was underway. Schultz said that Obama and his family are on vacation in his home state of Hawaii for the Christmas holidays, according to a news agency.