washingtonpost: A string of thunderstorms and clouds over the Java Sea on Sunday led one of the pilots of the now-missing AirAsia commercial jet carrying 162 people to ask to fly at a higher altitude. But his request could not be approved because of air traffic and a flight above his, an Indonesian Transport Ministry official told Kompas, the premier newspaper in Indonesia.

No distress calls were made, and aviation experts said the plane had a 90 percent chance of remaining safe. But the Transport Ministry official, Djoko Murjatmodjo, said that after the request was denied, “five minutes later [Flight QZ8501] disappeared from radar.”

A huge search-and-rescue operation, with seven ships and two helicopters, will get underway as soon as day breaks Monday, according to Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency.

The plane’s disappearance is the third air crisis this year for Southeast Asia

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