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They got quite a bit of time in that area because the area is not cold, its probably 80 degrees. and in the area. the real concern to me on that would be is because i dont think in a violent thunderstorm that youre going to able to come out -- but you could, im not saying you couldnt -- but normally you would be in a rather uncontrollable position so it would be very difficult to land like the a 320 did on the hudson river. the real concern is the violence of those thunderstorms and that line of...

Sfwhoo good monk. air asia flight 8501 vanishing over the java sea less than an hour after departing indonesia en route to singapore. severe weather and darkness hampering search crew efforts to find the plane. but some boats are continuing to search. air asias safety record nearly flawless up until this point. no fatal accidents involving the budget airline. more than 162 people aboard that missing jet. >> we have learned of the 155 passengers on board, 138 are adults 16 children and there was ...

We believe its climbing at 36,000 and theres a body of opinion now that the speed seems to be slow. in that environment, if youre talking to pilots they are saying that the airbus a 320 has a slow is climb at that particular height. its not a heavy aircraft. its got 160 passengers and crew on board. but its 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 theyve got to do is get th...

Plane in particular, how has the series performed in bad weather? >> the a-320 has been in service. it is a mainstay, the fleet has been in service since the mid 1980s. i used to fly one. and spent about six years with it. it is an extremely robust, well-tested high-quality airplane. it is very capable and it has millions upon millions of hours of safe flying. so the airplane is very well known. i enjoyed my time flying it. >> do you know much about -- i guess the pressure, if you will. this was...

320 is for the low-cost carriers like asia. it has exceptional fuel efficiency. theres a new version coming out. all in all it carries about 180, 183 passengers, depending on the configuration. and what we have here of course is airasia indonesia running it in its maximum configuration. >> richard, many of our viewers who are just joining us may seize on these reports were getting that the pilot reportedly requested a route change, an unusual route change. how common, how unusual i should say is...

Aircraft worldwide in operation. and many usair lines fly this air bus 320 equipment. so therefore, we have a -- as americans and as the ntsb we have an interest in making sure there is nothing wrong with the aircraft. at this point, everybody is saying its probably a weather problem. but everything is still open. we dont know whether its weather, mechanical human factor or even conceivably some kind of terrorist act although of course thats very rare event. so everything is still on the table. ...

Or at that altitude, would it not make a difference? what kind of mass land or water youre flying over? >> well it does help. this aircraft can travel at 8 miles per minute. so you can really boogie on down the road so to speak and get to land rather quickly in an emergency. the problem with this type of northeast monsoonal weather is it becomes completely unpredictable as youre entering the storm area. and thunderstorms can spontaneously develop around the aircraft and actually trap it. >> yeah...

Flight originated. and he also sent out a tweet saying "stay strong." also malaysia airlines tweeted support for asia air. we know they are a competitor as well. >> caller: yes. >> i want to go back to one point. you mentioned ditching. someone has said earlier that i was interviewing, that this airplane the air 320 has some kind of mechanism in order to ditch, to try to ditch. what are the chances we could have seen something like what happened on the hudson, which i know was a miracle. >> call...

Way the airplane impacted the water, if it did, to see whether -- >> they could be knocked out in really rough water, really rough seas? >> its possible but they are made to withstand pretty rough, rough seas and so on. by the way, the a-320, its my understanding, is the same type of aircraft that sully sullenberger landed on the hudson however, we have night and day conditions. >> yeah. that is the case right, les? >> a-320s. >> it absolutely is. >> all right. more questions, more of your quest...

Its an airasia a-320, flight qz8501. officials say that pilots asked to change paths in the middle of the flight. they asked to go to 38,000 feet to avoid some weather. and there was, indeed a line of thunderstorms in the area. that is the last they heard of that plane before it went off radar. now, it was supposed to land here at 8:30 in the morning at singapore airport. we saw a few family members and friends looking for answers. a lot of them have flown to surabaya airport. so far, though not...