-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com outfront the hunt for airasia flight 8501 floux the united states maybe joins the desperate search across the java sea. where is that plane? plus the final minutes inside the cockpit. what went wrong as the pilot asked permission to climb above a massive thunderstorm. and a deadly ferry fire. passengers freezing on the deck while the fire below melted their shoes. why did their rescue take so long? let's go "outfront." good evening. i'm jim sciutto in for erin

burnett. the united states navy headed to the java sea joined the search for flight 8501 that has just resumed as day breaks in asia. at this hour cnn has learn the guided missile destroyer, the uss samson is on the way part of an international force that includes some 15 planes and 30 ships. it will be if first of air, sea and underwater assets coming from the u.s. so far still no sign of the missing plane. four areas were add after the search sunday and monday turned up nothing. cloudy skies and large waves have hampered the search so far. the plane was an air us about a-320. it was en route from surabaya to singapore when it disappeared early sunday morning in the skies over the java sea with 162 passengers and crews on board. the floor is flat muddy and

degeneresly no more than 150 feet long. tonight we'll tell what you we know about it. and examine the questions investigators are trying to answer. one, how dangerous was the weather the flight flew into? can the a-320, a plane that millions of americans fly every year safely navigate such storms? and crucially now, how hard it will be to find this plane so we can learn what brought it down? while this still officially remains a search and rescue operation, indonesia's vice president admitted that the outlook today is grim. >> we pray for that but we realize, too, the worst thing maybe happened. >> andrew stevens is in surabaya in indonesia where flight 8501 took off. are we learning anything more about where this plane could be?

>> reporter: still plenty more questions and answers. we know two hours arrest the first of air reconnaissance planes took off. it has been confirmed by the indonesian search and rescue authorities of smoke being detected on one of the islands in the search area. at this stage, nothing can be ruled out. the indonesians said the working assumption is that the plane is at the bottom of the java sea. if there is smoke on an island in the search zone it will be checked out. as you said the u.s. is joining the hundred. we have the chinese. they're sending both ships and planes down to sing more. others are chepg in to help indonesia in this seven. so incredibly frustrating and so incredibly sad for the people, the victims' families who are gathering here at surabaya. remember 150 of the passengers were indonesians. many live in the second city in

indonesia. they have been taken behind closed doors. the frustration is there is just no news not good news not bad news no news at all as to where the plane may be. that is what is really hurting them. they're telling us we just need information. we're getting more information from television than from the authorities here. very, very difficult all round. the information isn't there to pass on at this stage. the families will be briefed this morning once again. and we sit and wait to get some sort of news from the search area. most of the people i spoke to experts in aviation say they will be very, very surprised if there is no news of 8501 within the next 48 hours. >> still, hard questions about whether it went down if it went down in the ocean or on land. thanks very much. piecing together the final minutes of flight 8501 will be

critical to locating this missing passenger jet. cnn is "outfront" with the latest. >> reporter: for a while, monitors at indonesia surabaya airport didn't list the status of flight 8501 but rather read go to info counter. the air bus a-320 aircraft took off sunday morning with 162 people on board for roughly a two-hour flight to singapore. distraught loved ones first briefed behind closed doors. linger at the airport, anxious for any jump dates. >> my fiance and his family were on that plane. they were supposed to be their last vacation before us got married. >> for our crews, the families the passengers' families. we're very devastated. >> what we know happened is at 5:36 a.m., the plane took off from surbaya. 36 minutes later, 6:12 a.m., the

pilot asked air traffic control for permission to turn left and ascend from 32,000 feet to 38,000 feet to avoid storm clouds. the turn was approved but the request to climb was denied due to heavy traffic. this is the last known communication from the crew. >> the weather conditions were not good. but further than that we don't want to speculate. >> a green grab reportedly leaked by an air traffic controller good appears to show flight qz-8501 rising in altitude but losing speed. traveling at a velocity too slow to sustain flight. airasia says at 6:24 a.m., it lost contact with flight 8501. at 7:55 a.m., the flight is officially declared missing. the indonesian authorities leading the multinational search effort say the missing plane is likely at the bottom of the sea. so crews are focusing on this broad, yet shallow air, between

the islands. no americans are on the missing jet but indonesia has officially asked the u.s. to help find the aircraft. as day three of the search begins rough weather continues to hamper the search efforts and any ping that would help in the investigation has yet to be detected. inning thanks very much. now i want to bring in the form he faa safety inspector and safety analyst as well as david gallow the director of special projects. it has been very successful in spotting lost planes in the past. if i could begin with you, the u.s. is soon going to join this search sending first a missile destroyer, similar participation that they had for mh 370 but say the possibility of additional air assets which we know might be key here. how crucial is u.s. help to a search like this? >> it is. it depends on where the ships are located, as to where they're

coming from. we're working against the clock with finding the pingers. these are still 30-day pingers. we talked about on mh had 370 that they could go to 90 days. >> so you need best equipment, the best vessels there. they're sending in the first of those. i wonder if i could bring you in. mh 370 was in water four miles deep. the bottom of the ocean, that search area was mountainous. we have a very different search area. 150 feet deem assuming this plane went down in the water as opposed to on land. flatter, sandier. we know your success in helping recover the wreckage of the air night fran off brazil. that was two and a half mile deem. when we look at this search area what we know about it. proximity to shore, shallow waters how much easier does that make the search assuming that's where this plane went

down? >> yeah. in some cases it is easier. we are closer to the ports so it is not a long transit for the ships to get to the search area or the wreck site. shallow water does have its challenges the visibility once we get to that level might be hampered. there is nothing easy about shallow water but it is easier than going down a thousand miles. >> and we know the authorities are asking fwort underaware search capabilities. here we are with a search like this. good radio coverage. there was communication with the crew moments before the plane disappeared. the plane sent an e.l.t.

yesterday we have no clear idea of where it went down. there was no may day call. how do we find ourselves in this? >> it has been the question for quite some time. we've been talking about doing direct data streaming from the aircraft for a lot of years and it is something that has been deficient. our system has failed us in this realm. these things should be on board these aircraft. they should be telling us exactly where this aircraft is. there's no reason to be waiting for this. regarding the elts, if it did in fact hand or crash hand on an island then the emergency transmitters should go off. >> whether on hand or water. >> actually they're more designed for hand than water. the elt is. there's another thing that would go off in water. but the emergency locator transmitter is jarred. when it hits it goes off.

within minutes, it will triangulate the position of the aircraft. >> to be clear, there was no elt in mh 370. >> once it is in the water it doesn't work. >> some new info that we're learning tonight. if i can mention to you, that airasia was actually jump grading its jets for improved tracking. this particular jet had not been upgraded. this is a top pick we went through with mh 370. does the industry need fast track changes like this? more consistency, for instance constant data streaming. we know the technology is available. does that need to happen today as opposed to months years down the line? >> me? or david, the other dated? >> you david. >> yeah. i think so.

i'm an ocean guy. if people understood how difficult ocean searches are. by now, after air france i thought we had that understood. it is inexcusable to lose one in the ocean. very difficult to work the site. and the question about, is it worth it. just look at the anguish and the pain and the loves once of those passengers and tell me it is not worth it to do this now. and also for the sake of the flying public. >> if you know exactly where it is. you might be able to rescue someone if you get there quickly enough. that most basic question. and it is incredible to imagine we're not allowing that opportunity. >> that thing haunts me quite a bit. that there could have been this could have been survivable. and someone could have been clinging to life. and we don't know until we find the black boxes. >> thank you to our two davids.

david gallo. up next airasia why flew into a massive storm. we'll talk about what it is like flying into a storm that size with that plane. and what is the safety record and is it equipped to face that kind of dangerous weather? and ten people die. hundred are rescued from a burning ferry. what caused the deadly fire? ring ring! progresso! i can't believe i'm eating bacon and rich creamy cheese before my sister's wedding well it's only 100 calories, so you'll be ready for that dress uh-huh... you don't love the dress? i love my sister... 40 flavors. 100 calories or less.

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cnn has learned that smoke has been spotted on an island by an indonesian navy helicopter crew. official are saying a search

team is being sent to check that area. we'll have more details on this as it develops. this comes as the search for airasia flight 8501 is now underway as day breaks in asia. the uss sampson is on its way to join the search. at least 15 planes and 30 ships are now scouring the waters off indonesia's coast for the missing jet. and it's 162 passengers and crew. the search has been hampered by severe thunderstorms and high winds. chad meyers is outfront. we talk about the weather when the plane disappeared. what are the colonel weather conditions hampering the crew? >> more thunderstorms developing more winds developing. what happens over an ocean when the winds blow? white caps. what are these search teams looking for? white things. so that's where you're feeling it. right now you're feeling, please don't let the wind blow.

don't make white caps out there. we can see much better. backing up 49 1/2 hours ago. here's the may not coming from surabaya. a line of weather to the north. it knew it would be there. knew it would have to 90 through it. a couple of bumps there. now we're up to 6:06 p.m. now 6:16. as the plane gets over the most severe weather, that's when the contact is lost. 50 to 53,000 foot thunderstorms right in that area. the plane can't fly over that. planes can't go that high. the black bird can but that plane can't. this is the intertropical convergence zone. weather like this hams every day over this area. the air come together at the surface. it can't go down. the converging air has to go up. the earth is in the way. the rising air makes thunderstorms, creates strong to severe weather. in fact over hurricane season it will create severe cyclones

typhoons and even hurricanes if it gets far enough from the equator to get the force or spin. this was not that it was just a severe storm. look at what has happened in the last hour. a line of weather has just developed over where they'll be searching today. but also wasn't there an hour ago. that's wham when this storm kind of blew up to the north of where the plane was. go back again. 24 hours, pretty clear skies. and the last three frames. boom! we have more severe weather right where the plane, where we're looking for it. so this hams all the time. what changes this plane from all the others that fly through this all the time. we still don't know and we won't be until we find the black boxes. thanks very much in atlantic. i want to bring in the attorney

and a commercial pilot himself. and i bring back the director of the special events. they have a record of finding lost planes. les, i bring you in first. we look at the 55,000 feet high thunder clouds. you've flown through weather like that. how difficult is it? is it safe? >> let me qualify. i have not flown through weather like. that i avoid weather like that. and it is incumbent upon that to give it a wide berth the best we can. sometime we get in a situation where this developing weather is so dynamic that we may have to skirt closer than we would like to and it might cause an uncomfortable ride. that's the purpose of putting on the seatbelt sign advising flight attendants to discontinue service. >> we know the pilot asked to go higher, to get to safer weather. and it was denied. you're a pilot in his shoes and

they tell you you can't fly higher. is that unreasonable? unacceptable? >> well first of all, we don't know for sure what that request was for. it might have been just for the purpose of getting, it sounds like maybe he was trying to get away from the weather. in answer to your question yes. the best course of action is to go right or left. it is difficult to judge the height of a thunderstorm. it is a dynamic event. even if you get on top of it there may still be turbulence. >> and chad made the point that it went to 50,000 feet. >> which is high for the united states but not for that area. >> i know you think this plane should never have taken off. >> i think you have to look at it like this. 36 minutes after this plane took off, they were smack in the middle of some of the worst weather i have ever seen.

a thunderstorm developing with hail probably ice. winds which could have approached 75 to 100 miles per hour. vertical displacement lateral displacement wind sheer. this is a maelstrom of the worst possible ingredients that an airplane would ever want to find itself in. the flight crew on the ground. they get their weather briefing them knew they were headed form. they knew they would have to deal with that. so now 36 minutes into it he says get me up to 38,000 feet. he is denied. they give him a left turn. there were other planes in the area. the issue here is in that neck of the world, you have such dynamic weather, i think it almost creates a tolerance and an acceptance of risk by these pilots who fly through with regularity. >> of unacceptable rick. >> there were a dozen or so

other planes that flew through with no problem. different altitudes. they all take a risk. i think this flight was listening in to the other plaens communicating and that's probably why they want the 38,000 feet. the tops on this were up to 56,000. this airplane probably the surface ceiling is around 38,000 39,000. they would never going to get above it. they never should have been in that situation. and if this were in new york or a local area we fly all the time all of us the three have us passengers planes are grounded. there are delays for winds, for rains which are conditions which are benign. compared to this. >> we have a different system in the u.s. we have a system caught metering. the northeast corridor down to florida, we meter airplanes when weather is closing off specific routes. when it does at laguardia kennedy, newark for instance

we'll stop means from departing and slow down the am of planes going through that area. >> more leeway to avoid? >> well they start the process of whether avoidance right on the ground. i don't think indonesia does this necessarily. they may have an informal way of doing it. to answer to respond to it. those are high thunderstorms but not every cell builds to 50,000 feet. >> i want to bring knew as well. you took part in the search for another plane that experienced severe weather. this is of course air france 447. flying from brazil over the atlantic ocean. what did we learn from that flight? and what changes if any have been made from that flight to avoid this kind of thing happening again? >> well we did learn a lot. and i think in that case it is still being worked out in the courts about the, who was truly at fault. in that case, it was a handoff

from the computer flying the aircraft to the pilots. because of some spurious information from the speed sensors on the plane. that was not done very well. in fact it was a four-minute long stall that the pilots put that plane in. we learned that. more importantly, i thought that we learned, never to let a plane go into the water without knowing exactly where it was. and here we are now again, it was five years ago, air france, and we've gone through malaysian air and here we are again. and this won't be the last time either. >> is it a cost issue? >> i think the airlines will not make changes unless they are mandated by government. i have an interesting little story. a real quick story. recently i was at one of the largest cargo carriers on the planet watching everything that went on. we started to talk about constant streaming. the one thing -- >> streaming of data engine performance. one thing they said to me was we

are being pinged too many times while crossing the atlantic. every time they're pinged for data they're charged. so it is all about the money. it is all about the economics. you have government mandating it. it will be done. without that it won't happen. >> bits the bureaucracy. >> sure. folks trying to control their data plans on their cell phones. it is incredible. >> thanks very much. coming up outfront next the missing airasia plane is a plane that millions fly every year. how safe is it? and a fire at sea. why did it take almost 24 hours to save everyone from this stricken ship?

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welcome back to our breaking news coverage. the search for flight 8501 has just resumed. the united states is providing air, sea and underwater assets including the uss sampson now part of an international force that includes some 15 planes and ships. we've also just learned that indonesian authorities are confirming that smoke has been spotted on an island within the search area. spotted by an indonesian air crew. they're sending additional assets there to take a closer look at this search continues. 162 passengers on board en route from surabaya indonesia, to singapore disappeared in the skies off indonesia's coast.

and we have new details about the captain of the missing flight. a veteran pilot whose final communication with air traffic control is a crucial lead in the search. joe johns is outfront. >> reporter: as is common in indonesia, he is known by only one name. pictures on facebook confirm at least one of his own hobbies. he was a fan of motorcycles. reports suggest he is a member of a motorcycle club. his daughter posted a picture of him on social media saying dad, please come home. i still need you. the family had recently suffered a loss. the captain's younger brother died of diabetes days ago. his father told the bbc, i want my son to come back alive. he was a veteran of the skies with more than 20,000 flying hours, of which 6,100 hours were with airasia on the air bus 320 biffle comparison slightly more flying time than the pilot sullenburger who executed an

emergency water handling of a u.s. air jet in new york with 155 passengers and crew on board. all survived. the captain of the airasia plane likely had about the same skill set based on his experience according to commercial pilot and author. >> captain sullenberger would say he would have been just as xenl to perform the miracle on the hudson. >> what we don't sng what happened in the cockpit before the plane went off radar. the includes include the prengs of bad weather in the area and the request to increase altitude radioed to air traffic control which was denied because of additional air traffic close by. what the captain may have done with that information is still an open question. for example, whether the pilot may have tried to disregard the controller's guidance. >> what disturbs me is that did he begin a climb without a clearance from air traffic control? that might be indicative of an

emergency problem developing. >> there was also no known communication before it went off radar. not necessarily a radio malfunction. >> we're trained very, very early on to i have a great and navigate and communicate being the last thing. because communicating in this particular circumstance if indeed a contributing factor was the weather, the less people would be able to help you was air traffic control. >> the captain is a former military pilot said to have flown f-16 fighter jets before joining commercial aviation. he is also a husband though his wife so far has declined to make any public statements. the first officer on the may not is from france. according to the french foreign ministry which notified his family about the missing plane. he had logged 2300 hours flying with airasia. >> joe johns in washington. we're getting more details about early reports of smoke spotted on an island within the search area for airasia flight 8501. media outlets reporting that it

was on a place called long island south of belitung island. there was no information at this point that the smoke is related to this missing jet. but it is something we're told by indonesian authorities. the authorities saying it was spotted by an air crew and they are going to take a closer look. "outfront," a norm he faa safety inspector and the author of why planes crash. and we have retired united airlines captain. he flew the exact planism wonder if could i begin with you. it is early and we learned very well during mh 370 that early signs of possible wreckage could turn out to be completely unconnected to the plane. you have here at least something that indonesian authorities are checking closer. an island within the search area. some smoke. would you have any other signal? here we're here as you're seeing our viewers. that red little arrow, within

the search area where the smoke was spotted. what other information would you get if the plane did hit land instead of water? the elt would have gone off? >> if it was an impact. it is a deceleration device. if it hits the ground hard and decelerates too quickly, i'm not talking about applying brakes. i'm talking about an impact. then the elt is set to put out a signal. it is put out by 11 different satellites that orbit the earth. >> presumably if there was an elt signal it would have been seen. >> absolutely. it would have been reported. however they're not the most reliable. there have been many situations where they did not go off. i want to go with you. you have very particular and relevant vandal experience. not only have you flown the air bus 320 but in this region that this plane flew. what is it like to be in the

cockpit in the early dawn hours as this plane was, the sun is coming up and there are severe thunderstorms? how difficult? >> well first of all thanks for having me. it is your job to not fly into one of those thunderstorms. at that time of day, you have some visual cues. you're using your radar. you're using all the tools in your arsenal but you are avoiding. i think that's what i suspect they were trying to do. to avoid flying into that kind of weather. >> if you can't avoid it we know in this circumstance the pilot had asking to go to a higher altitude. it was too heavy. he might have taken a turn left or right to avoid it. so we know that. if you have to fly through, is the a-320 capable of flying through? >> i don't think any commercial airliner is designed for the stresses that are involved in

flying through a super cell. so you really try to avoid it. the air bus does have some very specific flight control features that help the pilot fly the airplane. i'm not so sure those are either helpful or probably less than helpful in the situation when you're in the stall speed, the altitude where maybe you're in a high speed stall or a low speed stall. that's what you get in the thunderstorm. it can really put the air may not out of control. >> i have to admit, i'm a little taken aback. they have impression as i imagine a lot of our viewers do. in the 21st century of testing these out, testing the electronic capabilities auto pilot, et cetera you imagine they're built not only to withstand something like this but there are systems in place that allow pilots to get around. or they're trained to get around it. how could you end up with a

situation where a may not would have to go through? >> well they're constantly changing environment out there. when you say, i'm going this direct and then you say, i have to go through it and you have a lot of thing you're worried about. one of them is comfort. passenger comfort. a lot of time you'll change altitude to be temperature most comfortable level. so when it is behind you, the risk in the airmen's information manual it says if you find yourself in a situation, buff decide to turn around and come out of there, carryfully consider it. you could be in the storm longer. so there's a lot that goes on. more of an art than a science. kit sneak up on you. but as dan said captain duke has been in this situation many times. and you try to avoid it. mitigation. >> just quickly, again you've been through this.

is the pilot given the ability to make the decision to stay safe? >> that's your primary responsibility. you are there to keep it safe. everything else is secondary. you are doing everything within your judgment and your skill set to protect the people keep the air may not safe and get safely to your destination or go someplace else if you have to. there are a lot of tool. you investigated losses of planes like this. great to have you on. coming up the air bus a-320. a plane that millions of americans fly on every year. how safe is it? we'll have a report. plus passengers freezing on deck while the soles of their shoes were melting from the heat. the dramatic video ahead. ♪♪ ben...

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welcome back. the search for airasia flight 8501 resumes. and cnn learning that smoke has been spotted on an island inside the search area by an indonesian navy helicopter crew. officials saying that a search team is being single back to check that area more thoroughly.

meanwhile, air bus has single two experts to jakarta, indonesia, to be continue with the investigation. the a-320 is a time of aircraft many of us around the united states and the world have flown frequently. according to air bus, that group of aircraft takes off and lands every two and a half seconds of every day. >> reporter: world wide more than 3,600 air bus a-320s are flown. eight american carriers combined have more than 450 a-320s in their fleet. among the biggest, jet blue with 130. united has 97. delta and u.s. airways, 69 each. in the short to medium range world, the a-320 is second only to boeing 737 which has delivered nearly 8,000 of its ultra popular medium size planes. the a-320 family of planes

includes the a-318, 319, and 321, all similar in arrange and control. air bus says every 2.5 seconds, a may not from one of its family is taking off or handling somewhere in the world. the missing plane designated qz-8501 was delivered to airasia in october 2008. since then the airline says it has taken off some 13,600 times, logging approximately 23,000 hours in the air. airasia 8501 was carrying more than 18,000 pounds of fuel when it departed enough for about three and a half hours of flight. shortly before disappearing, the pilot asked air traffic control if he could ascend to 38,000 feet. that was denied. it is certified to fly to 39,000 feet. its absolute limit is 42,000 feet. weight temperature, weather and fuel all play a role in how high the plane can fly safely.

in its history, 16 a-320 plaens have crashed. nine of those crashes were deadly resulting in 656 deaths on the plane or on the ground. the first crash, shortly after the plane started service in 1988. air franls flight 296 skimmed the top of trees during an air show demonstration flight. the cause, the fly-by wire system and pilot error. in 2007 tam airlines flight 3054 krashld on handing in sao paulo, brazil. the plane unable to stop crashed into a cargo terminal. 187 passengers and crew died plus 12 on the ground. the deadliest crash for an a-320. cause, likely pilot erroror mechanical failure. and who could forget the 2009 ditching of airways flight 1549. on takeoff from new york's laguardia airport, the plane collided with a flock of geese.

both engines failed. the captain successfully handed the plane on the hudson river. all 155 aboard survived. >> the a-320 like many air bus planes has a fly by wire system. that means the commands puts in is digitized and that has been a factor in some krarks. it has not been clear if that played into this. the other thing is that it is so sophisticated, kit self-adjust. the computers can send xhabds to the mechanical parts of the plane without the pilot having to command it to do so. >> fly by on boeing jets as well. thank you. tonight on cnn, don't miss the greatest mystery of our time. tonight at 9:00 van he shalled, the mystery of malaysian airlines flight 370. and up next more than 400

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welcome back. let's check in with anderson cooper. >> hey, we're going to have more of the breaking news on the program. first hours of daylight have search teams back in on over the waters off indonesia looking for signs is of the missing air flight 8501. a live report ahead from the airport where families of the 162 people on board are still holding out hope. we'll also talk with our panelists, some of the top names in aviation about what we can learn about what happened on that plane and how long it may take to actually find it. reports on a very bad air for avs in malaysia. that's at the top of the hour. >> we'll be watching. ten people now confirmed dead after a ferry with more than 400 on board caught on fire in the adriatic sea off the coast of greece. treacherous seas, gale force winds and thick smoke acted as a

wall between rescue teams and passengers. one passenger described it like the titanic. some waiting nearly 36 hours to be rescued after a fire broke out on a car deck on board. 427 people have been rescued. italian officials say they're launching a criminal investigation into how the fire started. and we're joined "outfront" tonight from italy. what can you tell us about the criminal investigation. why do they think criminal charges might be involved here? >> well prosecutors have now told us jim, they've issued a seize order, which means they're trying to get that ship back here into italian waters so they can begin their own forensic investigation. they have a lot of concerns why the alarm system didn't trigger, about the infrastructure but mainly about a lot of the things we've been hearing from many of the eyewitnesses that there were tankers, quite a number of them carrying fuel on board on that level where the fire broke out.

this contributed to the intensity of the blaze so how difficult it was to put out. a lot of the eyewitnesses could feel that heat coming up through their shoes melting the rubber on the bottom of their soles. this is a huge concern and embarrassment, i should say, for the italian company running this. the greek authorities that were supposed to be overseaing it and the albanians in whose water this happened. >> ten dead but authorities say that death toll might climb. >> again, this comes back to all the confusion with the number of different nationalities that are involved in this. the italian authorities have -- they started the morning by saying four. it inched up to five six, we're at ten now after midnight. greek authorities throughout though jim, have been telling us that their concern is that the manifest for passengers it's not accurate. they're worried that there's a greater number of missing and that's going to start reflecting itself in the deaths. a lot of the families waiting to see family members at this port

here. until they're reunited, the shock, the unease the sorrow that has tarred this christmas period, this festive period that's going to take a long time to forget jim. >> no question. and families are waiting for possibly bad news out in asia as well. "outfront" next one of the most talked-about movies of the year "the interview" hit theaters as well as laptops. we know that north korea wasn't pleased, but how about moviegoers?

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so has "the interview" finally hit theaters this weekend prompting an angry response from north korea. and another $15 million from 2 million online sales. north korean officials released a statement saturday saying in part quote, obama is the chief culprit who forced the sony pictures entertainment to indiscriminately distribute the movie. obama always goes reckless in words and deeds like a monkey in a tropical forest. offensive, as you can imagine. as for the movie itself it opened to decidedly mixed reviews. i'm jim sciutto. we'll see you again tomorrow and be sure to set your dvr to record "outfront" so you can watch us any time.

"ac 360" starts right now. good evening. thanks for joining us. it is 8:00 eastern here in the united states, early morning in the waters off indonesia. there are late developments in the search for flight 8501. an airbus missing since sunday morning with 162 people on board. shortly before air time we did get word -- and this comes from local indonesian media -- that crews are investigating reports that smoke has been sighted on an island in the java sea. global help is on the way, the guided destroyer is expected to arrive later today. sadly, though it became almost certain today that this will be a recovery not a rescue mission. we have a panel of experts to make sense of it all, from what it will take