Surabaya, Indonesia • More planes will be in the air and more ships on the sea Tuesday hunting for AirAsia Flight 8501 in a widening search off Indonesia, now in a third day without any solid leads.
At least 30 ships, 15 aircraft and seven helicopters were looking for the jetliner carrying 162 people, said Henry Bambang Soelistyo, chief of Indonesia's search and rescue agency. Most of the search craft were Indonesian but Singapore, Malaysia and Australia contributed to the effort. Aircraft from Thailand planned to join Tuesday's search.
He said the search area would be expanded to land areas.
"Until now, we have not yet found any signal or indication of the plane's whereabouts," Bambang Soelistyo told The Associated Press.
The U.S. Navy is also joining the search. It said in a statement that the USS Sampson, a destroyer, which was already on an independent deployment in the Western Pacific, will arrive in the area Tuesday. China announced that a navy frigate already on patrol in the South China Sea and aircraft will help in the search.
Australia said Tuesday it was sending two more Orion aircraft to join the search, bringing Australia's total contribution to three Orions. Australia is leading the ongoing search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which disappeared in March, triggering many false reports and rumors.
The AirAsia pilots had been worried about the weather and had sought permission to climb above threatening clouds. Air traffic control couldn't say yes immediately; there was no room. Six other airliners were crowding the airspace, forcing Flight 8501 to remain at a lower altitude. Minutes later, the jetliner was gone from the radar without issuing a distress signal. The plane is believed to have crashed into Indonesia's Java Sea, but broad aerial surveys so far have turned up no firm evidence of the missing Airbus A320-200.
On Monday, searchers spotted two oily patches and floating objects in separate locations, but it was not known if any of it was related to the jetliner that vanished Sunday halfway into what should have been a two-hour hop from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore. The area is a busy shipping lane. Officials saw little reason to believe the flight met anything but a grim fate.
Based on the plane's last known coordinates, the aircraft probably crashed into the water and "is at the bottom of the sea," Bambang Soelistyo said Monday. Still, searchers planned to expand their efforts onto land Tuesday.
The last communication from the cockpit to air traffic control was a request by one of the pilots to climb from 32,000 feet to 38,000 feet because of the weather. The tower was not able to immediately comply because of the other planes, said Bambang Tjahjono, director of the state-owned company in charge of air traffic control.
The twin-engine plane was last seen on radar four minutes after the final communication.
A storm alone isn't going to bring down a modern plane designed to withstand severe weather. But weather paired with a pilot error or a mechanical failure could be disastrous. Pilots rely on sophisticated weather-radar systems, which include a dashboard display of storms and clouds as well as reports from other crews to steer around dangerous weather.
Relatives and next-of-kin of passengers on the AirAsia flight QZ8501 comfort each other as they wait for the latest news on the search of the missing jetliner at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Monday, Dec. 29, 2014. Search planes and ships from several countries on Monday were scouring Indonesian waters over which an AirAsia jet disappeared, more than a day into the region's latest aviation mystery. AirAsia Flight 8501 vanished Sunday in airspace thick with storm clouds on its way from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore. (AP Photo/Trisnadi Marjan)
Relatives and next-of-kin of passengers on the AirAsia flight QZ8501 wait for the latest news on the search of the missing jetliner at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Monday, Dec. 29, 2014. Search planes and ships from several countries on Monday were scouring Indonesian waters over which an AirAsia jet disappeared, more than a day into the region's latest aviation mystery. AirAsia Flight 8501 vanished Sunday in airspace thick with storm clouds on its way from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore. (AP Photo/Trisnadi Marjan)
Relatives and next-of-kin of passengers on the AirAsia flight QZ8501 wait for the latest news on the search of the missing jetliner at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Monday, Dec. 29, 2014. Search planes and ships from several countries on Monday were scouring Indonesian waters over which an AirAsia jet disappeared, more than a day into the region's latest aviation mystery. AirAsia Flight 8501 vanished Sunday in airspace thick with storm clouds on its way from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore. (AP Photo/Trisnadi Marjan)
Relatives and next-of-kin of passengers on the AirAsia flight QZ8501 wait for the latest news on the search of the missing jetliner at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Monday, Dec. 29, 2014. Search planes and ships from several countries on Monday were scouring Indonesian waters over which an AirAsia jet disappeared, more than a day into the region's latest aviation mystery. AirAsia Flight 8501 vanished Sunday in airspace thick with storm clouds on its way from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore. (AP Photo/Trisnadi Marjan)
A military personnel points to a map of Indonesia at the crisis center set up by local authorities in search of the missing AirAsia flight QZ8501 at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Monday, Dec. 29, 2014. Search planes and ships from several countries on Monday were scouring Indonesian waters over which an AirAsia jet disappeared, more than a day into the region's latest aviation mystery. AirAsia Flight 8501 vanished Sunday in airspace thick with storm clouds on its way from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore. (AP Photo/Trisnadi Marjan)
One of relatives and next-of-kin of passengers on the AirAsia flight QZ8501 wipes tears as she awaits the latest news on the search of the missing jetliner at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Monday, Dec. 29, 2014. Search planes and ships from several countries on Monday were scouring Indonesian waters over which an AirAsia jet disappeared, more than a day into the region's latest aviation mystery. AirAsia Flight 8501 vanished Sunday in airspace thick with storm clouds on its way from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore. (AP Photo/Trisnadi Marjan)
One of relatives and next-of-kin of passengers on board the AirAsia flight QZ8501 cries as she awaits the latest news on the search of the missing jetliner at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Monday, Dec. 29, 2014. Search planes and ships from several countries on Monday were scouring Indonesian waters over which an AirAsia jet disappeared, more than a day into the region's latest aviation mystery. AirAsia Flight 8501 vanished Sunday in airspace thick with storm clouds on its way from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore. (AP Photo/Trisnadi Marjan)
Relatives and next-of-kin of passengers on the AirAsia flight QZ8501 wait distressed, for the latest news on the search of the missing jetliner at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Monday, Dec. 29, 2014. Search planes and ships from several countries on Monday were scouring Indonesian waters over which the AirAsia jet disappeared, more than a day into the region's latest aviation mystery. AirAsia Flight 8501 vanished Sunday in airspace thick with storm clouds on its way from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore. (AP Photo/Trisnadi Marjan)
A search and rescue officer points to a co-ordination map of Indonesia at the crisis center set up by local authorities in search of the missing AirAsia flight QZ8501 at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Monday, Dec. 29, 2014. Search planes and ships from several countries on Monday were scouring Indonesian waters over which the AirAsia jet disappeared, more than a day into the region's latest aviation mystery. Flight 8501 vanished Sunday in airspace thick with storm clouds on its way from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore. (AP Photo/Trisnadi Marjan)
A crew of an Indonesian Air Force C-130 airplane of the 31st Air Squadron is silhouetted by the light from the window during a search operation for the missing AirAsia flight 8501 jetliner over the waters of Karimata Strait in Indonesia, Monday, Dec. 29, 2014. The Airbus A320-200 vanished Sunday morning in airspace thick with storm clouds on its way from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
Crew of Indonesian Air Force C-130 airplane of the 31st Air Squadron scan the horizon during a search operation for the missing AirAsia flight 8501 jetliner over the waters of Karimata Strait in Indonesia, Monday, Dec. 29, 2014. Search planes and ships from several countries on Monday were scouring Indonesian waters over which the AirAsia jet disappeared, more than a day into the region's latest aviation mystery. Flight 8501 vanished Sunday in airspace thick with storm clouds on its way from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
A crew of an Indonesian Air Force C-130 airplane of the 31st Air Squadron looks out of the window during a search operation for the missing AirAsia flight 8501 jetliner over the waters of Karimata Strait in Indonesia, Monday, Dec. 29, 2014. The Airbus A320-200 vanished Sunday morning in airspace thick with storm clouds on its way from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
Relatives and next-of-kin of passengers on the AirAsia flight QZ8501 wait for the latest news on the search of the missing jetliner at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Monday, Dec. 29, 2014. Search planes and ships from several countries on Monday were scouring Indonesian waters over which the AirAsia jet disappeared, more than a day into the region's latest aviation mystery. The Flight 8501 vanished Sunday in airspace thick with storm clouds on its way from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore. (AP Photo/Trisnadi Marjan)
A crew of an Indonesian Air Force C-130 airplane of the 31st Air Squadron scans the horizon during a search operation for the missing AirAsia flight 8501 jetliner over the waters of Karimata Strait in Indonesia, Monday, Dec. 29, 2014. Search planes and ships from several countries on Monday were scouring Indonesian waters over which an AirAsia jet disappeared, more than a day into the region's latest aviation mystery. AirAsia Flight 8501 vanished Sunday in airspace thick with storm clouds on its way from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)
Indonesian President Joko Widodo, left, talks with F. Henry Bambang Sulistyo, chief of the National Search And Rescue Agency (BASARNAS) during a press conference at BASARNAS headquarters in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, Dec. 29, 2014. Search planes and ships from several countries on Monday were scouring Indonesian waters over which an AirAsia jet disappeared, more than a day into the region's latest aviation mystery. AirAsia Flight 8501 vanished Sunday in airspace thick with storm clouds on its way from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore. (AP Photo)
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