BREAKING: AirAsia flight between Indonesia and Singapore 'missing' - Pilot asked for 'unusual' route

An AirAsia flight from Surabaya, Indonesia to Singapore has been reported missing after it lost contact with air traffic control officers on Sunday. The plane is carrying 162 passengers and crew.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The Indonesian Transport Ministry has reported an AirAsia flight QZ 8501 from Surabaya, Indonesia to Singapore has gone missing, as of 6:17 AM local time on Sunday, (6:17 PM EST, Saturday).

The plane has 162 souls aboard including crew. The plane was an Airbus 320-200.

Let us pray for those in peril in the air and on the sea.

The pilot of the plane requested what was described as an "unusual" route prior to its disappearance. There were no signs of distress prior to the plane's disappearance.

At this time, the plane is listed as "delayed" and is missing. No evidence of a crash has been reported.

The disappearance of the AirAsia flight bears some resemblance to the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight 370 which remains missing. That plane disappeared and a search is ongoing in the south Indian Ocean. Experts suspect that plane may have been brought down by the pilot himself as part of a suicide plan, and he may have ditched the plane in the ocean, however all theories to date are conjecture.

Read our coverage of MH 370 here.

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