Obama briefed on missing AirAsia flight

President Obama was briefed Saturday night about the disappearance of an AirAsia jetliner that went missing while traveling between Indonesia and Singapore.

White House spokesman Eric Schultz said White House officials had informed the president of the disappearance and were continuing to monitor the situation. The statement was issued as the president and first lady were dining with friends at Alan Wong’s Restaurant in Hawaii, where they are spending the holidays.

{mosads}AirAsia said in a statement that Flight 8501, an Airbus 320-200, lost contact with air traffic control at 7:24 a.m. local time. Records show it was expected to land at 8:30 a.m. at Singapore’s Changi Airport. There are 162 people aboard the aircraft, an Indonesian transportation official told the Associated Press.

“At the present time we unfortunately have no further information regarding the status of the passengers and crew members on board, but we will keep all parties informed as more information becomes available,” the airline said in the statement, which was posted to its Facebook page. 

“At this time, search and rescue operations are in progress and AirAsia is cooperating fully and assisting the rescue service.”

The disappearance of the plane comes just under nine months after the loss of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which vanished while flying between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing. Authorities have still not been able to locate that plane, which had 239 passengers and crew.

Four months later, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, crashed in eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 aboard. The United States government later said it had evidence suggesting the plane was shot down by pro-Russian separatists operating in the region.