USS Sampson to help in AirAsia search

JAKARTA, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- The U.S. Navy is sending USS Sampson to aid in the search for a missing AirAsia passenger jet that is believed to be "at the bottom of the sea."

Exactly when the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer is expected to be deployed wasn't revealed by the Department of Defense.

AirAsia Indonesia flight QZ-8501 from Surabaya lost contact with air traffic control Sunday at 6:17 a.m. local time while en route to Singapore. The plane, with 162 on board, disappeared after the pilots requested a flight plan change due to inclement weather.

The plane disappeared while flying in Indonesia airspace over the Java Sea between the islands of Belitung and Borneo.

The Indonesian government asked the United States on Monday for help in the search.

An international search and rescue mission from Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore took place Monday, combing a broad search area comprised of seven sectors.

The Indonesian government said that search area is expected to expand to four more sectors Tuesday.

Bambang Sulistyo, head of Indonesia's national search and rescue agency, told reporters Monday "(Because) the coordinate that was given to us and the evolution from the calculation point of the flight track is at sea, our early conjecture is that the plane is in the bottom of the sea."

AirAsia wrote via Facebook that its "primary focus remains on the families." Sunu Widyatmoko, the chief executive officer of AirAsia Indonesia, has been posted to the family center in Surabaya to provide updates to the families of the missing.

"Another group of AirAsia officials are providing the same to the families based in Singapore," the airline noted.