Missing AirAsia Jet: Second Missing Plane This Year ‘Disheartening’

Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — It’s “disheartening” that a second passenger airliner seemingly disappeared this year, as the searches for AirAsia Indonesia flight 8501 and Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 continue, said ABC News consultant Col. Stephen Ganyard.

Ganyard said no consensus was made about better tracking planes despite lots of discussion after flight MH370 vanished in March.

“It’s really disheartening,” he said.

AirAsia flight 8501 on Sunday lost contact with air traffic control while en route to Singapore shortly after the pilot asked to divert the flight because of poor weather conditions.

“This is a good airplane. It’s designed to go through weather,” said Ganyard. “We’re looking for clues and at this point there are very few clues.”

Ganyard said there’s a “pretty good chance” the plane will be found.

“If the airplane lost control, there should be some [radar] hits [at] lower [altitudes],” he said.

Ganyard added that the Java Sea, where the plane last contacted air traffic control, is very shallow but called the plane’s disappearance “baffling.”

“It just shouldn’t happen in this day and age,” he said.

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