THE AIRLINER – AT 10:34 A.M. ET:   Does this sound familiar?  They still haven't found the missing Malaysian airliner.  The plane had (or has) 161 souls on board.   From CNN:

(CNN) -- The search for a missing airliner with 162 people aboard will expand Tuesday, the Indonesian government announced.

Four additional areas will be searched, the national search and rescue agency said.

Seven zones were patrolled Monday, the second day of searching for AirAsia Flight QZ8501. So far, the search has been fruitless.

"Our early conjecture is that the plane is in the bottom of the sea," said Bambang Sulistyo, the head of the search and rescue agency. That belief is based on the plane's flight track and last known coordinates.

Not exactly a comforting name for a search-and-rescue guy:  Bambang.

France dispatched two investigators to Indonesia. They are due to arrive in Jakarta on Monday, France's Foreign Ministry said.

The missing plane is made by Airbus, a French company.

Rescuers say weather was probably a factor in the plane's disappearance.

COMMENT:  We're told that the pilot asked for approval for a change in altitude to avoid weather conditions, but was turned down...on grounds there was too much traffic in the area.

Hmm.  Why was this airliner the only one to ask for a flight change because of weather?   All those other planes in the area were facing the same weather.  And why was this plane, by some strange coincidence, the only one to "disappear"? 

No sign of wreckage.  No "pinging" from the emergency transmitter in the black box that goes on if the plane has a sudden impact.  No nothing. 

They told us initially they knew exactly where the plane was when air traffic control lost contact.  Now they're expanding the search area.

Doesn't feel right.  How do we know that call from the plane asking for a change in altitude was legit? 

Stay tuned.

December 29, 2014