this is cnn breaking news. >> hello, everybody. we would like to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. ahead this hour breaking news in the hunt for airasia flight 8501. indonesian officials are looking at photos of debris that could be from the missing airliner. in other news, a prominent critic of vladamir putin has learned his fate after a corruption trial. and the uk dealing with its first ebola patient during the current outbreak. a health care worker just back from west africa due to arrive

at a london hospital at any time. our top stories this hour an indonesian official says possible debris has been spotted by crews searching for airasia flight 8501. the objects were in the eastern part of the java sea. the government describing it as brown, silver and yellow objects. it's hard to make out what the debris is based on these photos. helicopters have been sent to the area but weather may hinder visibility. okay so andrew let's get to the photos that have been made public. what are we looking at? >> reporter: well john if we've got images let's get them up. one of the images does look like a life jacket. a second object is a little bit

more difficult to define. it's dark in color and it's sort of shapeless. so we can't really define what that could be. and the third object is -- looks like a long sort of orange piece of equipment. that's -- they're the pictures taken by the indonesian air force. this certainly is all pointing to very much the strongest lead we have had in the mystery of what happened to this flight. where these objects have been discovered also corresponds very closely with where the plane was last seen where it was trying to avoid a big storm. so the dots are starting to come together. we've been speaking to the indonesian air force, and they've given us something of a timeline. so 9:52 this morning, that would be a little more than four hours

ago, an indonesian hercules spotted what the air force described as suspected debris from an airplane. now, 11:30, a little over an hour and a half later, a second plane in the air spotting more debris. then about 12:15, another indonesian air force hercules in slightly different area but all within the same zone sector five which has been the focus of this particular search seen taking pictures of that image of what looks like a life jacket. so that tends to suggest this is a debris field. the weather conditions we are told over the area are bad at this time and getting low-flying choppers in there to at least try and identify what those objects are may prove difficult. we're still waiting at the moment we're still working our contacts here our local cnn

correspondent has been speaking to the air force, he's working very hard. but we're getting information also from the acting general director of transportation who seems to be confirming these reports. in fact he's been talking to the media. it seems to be coalescing around the fact that this is the strongest lead because it corresponds with where the plane last made contact. so all the pieces of the puzzle look like perhaps they are falling into position. like i said we're still waiting for full confirmation. but this would now very much appear to be the focus. again, talking to aviation experts, john they were telling me yesterday that they would be very surprised, given how shallow this part of the java sea is, they would be surprised if there wasn't some sort of sighting by the next 24 to 48

hours. john? >> andrew, this story is still developing and still breaking news here. but you mentioned they're trying to get helicopters into the area. there's problems with the weather, but there's more than 30 ships out there looking for debris. are they trying to get those assets in place to recover the debris? >> reporter: yeah 40 ships. obviously they would be trying. it depends again how bad the weather conditions are. they would have military vessels, which would be capable of dealing with high winds and rough seas no doubt about it. remember this area is -- the original search zone has been expanded to a point where it reached 156,000 square kilometers. so they had to divide their assets across that region. so we don't know at this stage how many vessels are within steaming distance of that debris and how long it would take to get this. the other thing too, if the

weather is bad, this debris could scatter or sink. so we can't say when there will be a vessel within that area. at the moment the indonesians are saying they're trying to get choppers into the area to get down low to see exactly what it is. but at the moment we're still waiting for further information. >> andrew we should note that there has been a couple of false starts already. there's been the report of smoke coming from an island nearby. there's also that unconfirmed report 24 hours ago that they found something, turned out they hadn't. has there been any reaction from the relatives on board this missing plane to this latest news? >> reporter: not at this stage that we are aware of. remember the relatives are -- they've been kept away from the media. certainly we haven't made any contact with them in the last hour or so when this news

started to develop. but having said that they have access to a lot of communication, more and more every day. authorities are trying to open up the channels of communication, given direct access to research leaders in jakarta. they have local television as well. there's a massive local media, as you can imagine. and they have access to all these sorts of channels of information. and you're right, john it's always a note of caution in this. there is so much debris generally in the seas of the world. there were many many misleading statements and misleading sightings coming from flight 370. there were satellite photos that clearly shown where it had gone down which is now nowhere near

where we think it may be. so yes, we have right to be cautious on this. but having said that, this is a very, very strong lead. >> and we should also note we have seen three photographs, which have been made public. there are another seven photographs which i understand were taken of the debris in that area. the area which is as you said sector five where they're concentrating the search. andrew, we'll let you go. andrew stevens hive ss live for us. let's go to captain ross now. you've had a chance to look at some of those images. what is your take? >> thank you very much for having me. yes, i am in sydney. the three -- they do look interesting. the top one in particular looks to me as possibly a life raft or a life vest. it's hard to know exactly what size these are. the one in the middle could be

anything from a black plastic bag to very difficult indeed. the final one, which looks long it does look too solid to be a slide. i don't think it would remain that straight. so, you know as your reporter said a moment ago, i would tend to be a little cautious at the moment in declaring exactly what they are. there are so many shipping containers that go overboard. however, it does look hopeful and the indonesians are taking it all seriously. they'll get a ship there and we'll know exactly what it is within a short period of time. >> does the location make sense to you that this debris is being found about six miles from where the plane was last seen on radar? >> absolutely.

you know any search should start from the point of disappearance. in this case they take that radar track and they start to expand the search out from that point. so it would fit in very well if that turned out to be the case. i was estimating it could be up to ten miles away. yes, it fits very well. any aircraft -- people have to understand an aircraft like that, if it is falling from 36,000 feet, it's not going to go vertically downwards. it will spiral and go in various directions and it could end up a long distance away from the point of departure from the radar track. >> so what happens now? we've been having a look at these photographs of the debris spotted that's in section five

of that map up on the screen. we understand they're trying to get helicopters there, boats and ships as quickly as they can. there's concern that it could sink or be swept away? >> absolutely especially in shallow water as in thattia. if it is only 45 50 meters deep the current also move quite quickly. some of the currents combined with winds that are blowing through at that moment and the heating seas any debris could disappear quite quickly. i would expect them to get a helicopter out there before anything else. i don't think the distance offshore is too great. that would be what i would be using. >> so the process now, if they recover this debris they mark where it was found and then they work backwards looking at the currents and the tides and the wind conditions and that will

hopefully lead them to the bulk of the plane and the black boxes? >> exactly. the currents will be mapped they'll be known. it's a well traveled area. they'll have those charts and they'll be able to track that back for a period of time depending on the speed of the current. it should bring them close to the main part of the wreckage. we're still assuming there is a wreckage there. if that is the case there should be other debris floating from it. items that float, such as seat cushions and other pieces of life saving equipment. there would be a lot more and as they got closer to the site of the impact they should find a lot more. if an aircraft like that hits the water, it's going to break up. there's no chance of it remaining in tact as one whole aircraft. it either went in quite fast or even if the pilots were able to

land on the water, it was still going to be traveling at 150 miles an hour and hitting waves such as we're seeing in those photographs. it's pretty much the same as hitting rocks. it will break up the engines will be torn off, the rings ripped off, no question. >> captain ross we appreciate your insight into all of this. one last note that we have to add on this at this point, coming from indonesian officials right now, it does appear according to officials involved in this search that one clump of debris is in fact a life vest. there are other reports of luggage. that is yet to be confirmed. what we're hearing from indonesian officials is there is a life vest and we should emphasize we're waiting to confirm all of this. we have three photographs of the ten that have been made public. it is still coming and as we get that information, we'll bring it to you. obviously, this is now the major

development at this hour in the search for flight 8501. we'll move on now to other developing news. a russian court has found a kremlin critic guilty of fraud, but he got a suspended sentence. he and his brother were accused of stealing $500,000 from a french cosmetics company. both men say they're innocent. let's go to erin. this really didn't work out how everyone expected it to. there was talk there they had moved this forward and that was an ominous sign he could be heading off for a lengthy prison sentence. >> reporter: that's right. but there was a dramatic scene that unfolded this morning in a moscow courtroom with leading kremlin critic and opposition activist alexi navolny, screaming out, why did you put my brother in jail?

his brother oleg was sentenced to three years and six months in prison and a fine of around $90,000, that fine split between the two brothers. however, he was given a suspended sentence meaning he will not be spending time behind bars in a russian jail. this is much less than what the prosecution had been asking for. they asked the court to deliver a ten-year sentence for navalny for charges of fraud, the charges saying he had allegedly embezzled hundreds of thousands from a russian subsidiary of a french cosmetic firm. charges that both brothers have denied. nevertheless supporters calling this entire trial a travesty of justice.

but they are expecting -- there are rather expressing their surprise. they had expected the worst, especially given the way the court had abruptly moved forward this verdict. john? >> so erin just explain this to us. this trial was apparently brought forward unexpectedly and on the coldest day of the year so far there in moscow because of concerns that there was a mass protest, which had been planned. will that still go ahead later today? >> reporter: well, right now'9" is expected to john. supporters are saying that this was a playblatant attempt on the part of the russian government to avoid a protest that had been scheduled for january 15. the court abruptly moving forward the court date yesterday evening, at a time when many have left moscow for the holiday season. the holiday season beginning on january 1st here in russia.

also not giving supporters enough time to apply for permissions to protest. something that is required under russian law. nevertheless supporters say they are planning to protest in the main square here in moscow right outside the kremlin. at 7:00 p.m. tonight, if it happens, it will be an illegal protest and we can expect a police response. john? >> okay, erin, thank you. live for us there in moscow. we'll take a short break. when we come back a hospital in london preparing for the first ebola patient diagnosed in the uk as investigators search for anyone else who might be at risk.

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a nurse in isolation in scotland is waiting transfer to london. she's been diagnosed with ebola. she's the first person diagnosed with ebola on british soil. she returned to scotland on sunday where she was returning from sierra leone. plans to move her to an isolation unit in london is per uk protocol. >> the protocol in place are to ice hate people very quickly.

people will be transferred in london. we're told in this instance the nurse is stable. the doctors say they think there's going to be a good prognosis and she's in good condition at the moment and they will transfer her as soon as possible. that's where the specialists are and where they're geared up to treat a person with ebola. >> investigators are tracking down anyone who may have come in contact with the patient. officials say since she was diagnosed in the early stages of the illness, the risk to others on her flight is extremely low. a criminal investigation is under way on how a fire broke out on a ferry. the death toll stands at ten. officials say the rest of the passengers which numbered more than 400, were evacuated. many had been reunited with family members on monday. one of the rescued passengers is nick channing williams seen on the right. he was trapped on the lower

deck. we spoke to another survivor about this harrowing ordeal. >> people were going there and there and trying to run away from the fire. >> reporter: delivered to safety this was a moment she didn't dare believe would come for her and her fellow passengers. hundreds stranded on a burning ship in the adriatic sea. this was the stuff of nightmares. >> i knew it is so real. this was really bad to really know it is real. >> reporter: ute stumbles over her words. >> we did not know where it was the best, could it be the best place to stay, so you stand there. we were wet and cold, and the rain was like in needles, so hard wind and there was always

this explosions and this feeling you have in your feet. it goes through your body, all explosions. >> reporter: for many families, though, the nightmare has still not ended. while we wait for the boat to bring in those who have been rescued this this disaster, the coast guard has begun ferrying in the bodies of those who lost their lives at sea. they've asked us not to come any closer than this because a lot of families still haven't been told. now that the rescue operations are coming to an end, the questions are beginning. they are launching an investigation into the incident, how this could have happened and how to prevent it from ever happening again. cnn, italy. when we come back more on the developing story out of indonesia. the debris spotted in the java sea. we'll take a closer look at the weather conditions, which could have affected the airasia jet. and word that family members are meeting with officials there. that's straight ahead.

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flight. an official says the debris was spotted off the coast of indonesia. the plane has been missing since sunday. the airline says it's too early to blame weather for the disappearance. our tom foreman looks at the major weather factors at play. >> bad weather is so often a factor in aviation accidents, they have to consider it. here are three key questions people have been asking us. first, could lightning have taken this plane down? not likely. modern airliners are made so that it will be ejected off the wing tips or tail. and even if it penetrates to the interior, very improbable that it would disable enough electronics to bring the plane down. second possibility, what if the storm is so immense and so big

that it produces such turbulence and the plane is torn apart in flight. again, this is not likely. this plane can take a huge impact. if you had an underlying mechanical problem something was already wrong with the wind or tail, then the weather could exacerbate it. but if the plane is healthy, probably not. third one, what if there were so many high and low pressure systems so close together that the plane just lost a tremendous amount of speed all of a sudden, dropped to 100 miles per hour and began to stall. if that happens, then you have a real serious problem related to the weather because the air flow over the wing, the thing that makes it fly, could separate. it's like losing traction in a car. and regaining it is very hard. it would take a very skilled crew, a very calm crew. 23 they didn't do everything

right, a plane at 32,000 feet could be in the walter in 45 seconds or less. >> as if search for the flight 8501 continues, we're learning more information about the captain. more on that when we come back. n ultra-thin coating and fast absorbing advil ion core technology stopping headaches and other tough pain. fast. relief doesn't get any better than this. advil.

and welcome back to you viewers in the united states and around the world. great to have you with us. let's check the headlines this hour. an official says the indonesian air force has spotted debris that may be related to the missing airasia flight 8501. search aircraft are focusing on the area in the eastern java sea where the debris was spotted. and family members have been summoned to a search and rescue head quarters to meet with

officials. a top kremlin critic and his brother have been found guilty of fraud. a russian court gave him a suspended sentence. both men have maintained their innocence and they called the charges politically motivated. protests against the verdict are expected later today in moscow. we're learning more about one of the pilots of that missing airasia flight. as joe johns reports, he was a former military pilot before shifting to commercial aviation. >> reporter: as is common in indonesia, he's known by only one name iriyanto. pictures on facebook confirm one of his known hobbies. he is a fan of motorcycles. reports suggest he is a member of a motorcycle club. his daughter posted a picture of him on social media with this message, saying dad, please come back. i still need you. the family's 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 6100 hours on the airbus 320. more hours than chesley sullenberger who executed the landing on the hudson. the captain of the airasia plane likely had about the same skill set based on his experience according to author les abend. >> he would have been just as competent to perform the miracle on the hudson. >> reporter: what we don't know is what happened in the cockpit before the plane went off radar. the potential clues include the presence 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 did he begin a climb without a clearance from air traffic control, that might be indicative of an emergency problem developing. >> reporter: there was also no known communication before it went on off radar. not necessarily a radio malfunction. >> we're trained early on to aviate, navigate and communicate being the last thing. communicating in this circumstance if indeed the contributing factor was the weather, the last people that would be able to help you is air traffic control. >> reporter: the first officer is from france, according to the french foreign ministry which notified his family about the missing plane. he had 2300 hours flying with airasia. joe johns, cnn, washington. >> right now in indonesia,

officials are hold ing aing a news conference updating about possible debris that could be linked to flight 8501. there was talk that a life jacket has been found, possibly an emergency chute which comes from a plane, which allows people to get off and turns into a life raft. this is the break through we believe that the officials have been waiting for. they say there's a number of objects in the ocean, and it's about six miles from where the plane was last spotted on radar. this comes on day three of the search for flight 8501. of course now they have found this debris and they are trying to move helicopters, as well as ships to get confirmation and to see if there are any survivors if does in fact turn out to be debris from flight 8501. we have heard from a number of

indonesian officials over the past hour. they seem to be confident what they have found here is a debris field. from this point, they'll work back look at the currents of the ocean, the winds and work out where the fuselage of the plane is and they have just said in that news conference they have confirmed the sighting of an emergency exit door from that airbus a-320. as we said it went down more than 40 hours ago now. this is day three of the search. so we have confirmation from these officials in indonesia that they have found a life jacket as well as an emergency exit door. everyone is making the assumption a fair assumption to make this is from flight 8501. the question is did anyone survive, can they get there in time and what will they find once they manage to get rescue ships, as well as helicopters and planes into this area? continuing to monitor that press

conference. we'll bring you anymore news as it comes to hand. this missing plane, an airbus a-320, part of airasia's fleet. miguel marquez takes a closer look at the plane's history and how it flies with other airlines around the world. >> worldwide, more than 3600 airbus 320s are flown by more than 400 airlines, charter companies and private entities. eight american carriers combined have more than 450 a320s in their fleet, amongs the biggest, jet blue with 190. delta and u.s. airways, 69 each. in the short to medium range world, the a320 is second only to boeing 737, which has delivered nearly 8,000 of its ultra-popular medium-sized planes. the family includes the a318, 319, and 321. all similar in range and control.

airbus says every 2.5 seconds, a plane from one of its 320 family is taking off or landing somewhere in the world. the missing plane was delivered to airasia in 2008. since then, the airline says it has taken off some 13,600 times, logging approximately 23,000 hours in the air. airasia flight 8501 was carrying more than 18,000 pounds of fuel enough for three hours of flight. shortly before disappearing, the pilot asked if he could ascend to 38,000 feet. that request was denied. the a320 is certified to fly up to 39,000 feet. its absolute limit is 42,000 feet. weight, temperature and fuel all play a role in how high the plane can fly safely. in its history, 16 have crashed, nine were deadly, resulting in 656 deaths on the planes or on

the ground. the first crash, shortly after the plane started service in 1988. air france flight skimmed the top of trees during an air show demonstration flight. the cause, pilot error. in 2007, tam airlines crashed in sao paulo. a reverse thruster had been deactivated. the plane crashed into a cargo terminal. 187 passengers and crew died, plus 12 on the ground. the deadliest crash for an a320, cause, likely mechanical failure or pilot error. and who could forget 1549's ditching. on takeoff, the plane collided with a flock of geese. both engines failed. captain sully sullenberger successfully landed the plane on the hudson river. all 155 aboard survived.

miguel marquez, cnn, new york. >> we're beginning to learn more about some of the passengers on board flight 8501. young jaden cruz and his two sisters were students at cambridge school. their parents were with them on that flight. his sister told cnn how she found out about the news. [ speaking foreign language ] >> she says her fiance was on the flight with his family. she had planned on meeting them

for a vacation before their wedding. it was meant to go ahead next may. we're continuing to monitor this live news conference. this is the search and rescue officials. they're continuing to give details about what has been found in the waters in the java sea just off the coast of indonesia. so far, confirmation an emergency exit has been spotted. officials saying they have found a life jacket and other reports of a debris field, which may contain luggage. of course, the question is what happened to those on board, were there any survivors? and how soon can they get assets to this location? all of this coming as family members of those on board flight 8501 have been summoned to the search and rescue head quarters to meet with officials, as well as. this has been an agonizing wait for these families and probably

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this is cnn breaking news. >> welcome back. if you're just joining us the breaking news for indonesia at this hour, officials confirming the location of a debris field, found about six miles from where

flight 8501 was last seen on radar. you can see family members have been gathered at the search and rescue headquarters to hear from officials themselves. andrew stevens joins us live with more details with what we know about the debris and where it's come from. andrew? >> reporter: john the line which has come out of this press conference which has been held here is that the head of the national search and rescue coordinators which is leading this entire search the head of that says he was 95% certain that this is in fact debris from the plane they are looking for. the other 5% is the fact that he has not seen it with his own eyes. so he's taking information and discussions he's had with his people who are closest to seeing that debris. they have spotted it from the air. helicopters have been on the site. he's saying it's 95% likelihood

that this is debris from the plane they are looking for. i've been standing here john but my colleagues have been looking at reaction that the families are just behind me they're closed off to the media, but you can see into that room. and my colleague just come of and said it's enormously emotional, tears, hugging, anguish you can't begin to comprehend for the poor families of the people on board. we don't know specifically what the debris is yet that you've been talking about, confirmation of life jackets, perhaps an escape area as well a door. but certainly this is all coming together now. the debris was found just ten kilometers from the last known position of flight 8501. so that tallies as it were where

the debris was most likely to have been found. the indonesian air force told us about three quarters of an hour ago there have been three sorties over that area. the first one around 10:00 this morning, saw suspected debris. one followed up about an hour and a half later saying more debris looking like it came from an airplane. and then a third one said that they spotted what they thought was a life jacket. so there is a clear debris field there. we now have the head of search and rescue saying he's 95% certain this is the plane they're looking for, and as you can imagine, so sad the emotional scenes here. 162 souls on that plane. 155 passengers, 7 crew. so many of the passengers from surabaya which is where we are. second biggest city in

indonesia. it has been an absolute ordeal since flight 8501 first disappeared, which was back on sunday john. >> andrew, thank you. also news from that news conference pieces of aluminum have also been spotted there in the water and apparently they are sending divers to the scene to recover as much as they can. andrew we'll talk with you again soon. appreciate the update. officials say debris spotted in the java sea is now 95% almost certainly related to that airasia flight 8501. details on that and a look at how the airasia ceo has been handling this disaster. well, that was close. you ain't lyin'. let quicken loans help you save your money.

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this is cnn breaking news. >> welcome back to breaking news this hour. a search official in indonesia says it is 95% likely that debris found in the java sea is from airasia flight 8501. searchers have found an emergency exit door as well as pieces of aluminum. all floating in the east java sea. there have been images of at least one body floating in the water. it definitery ryly appeared to be a body in the search area. the fate of the missing airliner mason be known. 162 people were on that flight

from surabaya to singapore when it disappeared sunday. based on the ocean currents this is more than likely related to flight 8501. we're joined now with a closer look with what may or may not have happened in this region and exactly what the search teams are dealing with now as they move into the area. >> absolutely. john this particular location, i just pulled up the currents in the area where we know the possible debris is located, about ten kilometers east of the last known contact with the aircraft. notice the area of blue. that's very slow in the movement of the current, about 20 kilometers per day. the motion going from west to east. but the region is in the weak eddy so about 52 miles, roughly how much this debris has moved in the past 50 or so hours,

talking about the last point known of contact. so that's the region we believe it would have been tracked in this weak eddy moving about a half mile per hour. but putting it into motion here with the aircraft we know the last point of contact was around 6:24 a.m., the debris located on this region. on the outskirts of a second thunderstorm it was going to be running into. we had that massive thunderstorm and this is where the debris would be about six miles to the east. so how is the forecast looking? we had about 2 1/2, 3 hours of daylight left and this is where we believe the debris field is. partly cloudy skies at this moment. a lot of storms down to the south of it. this is typically the pattern. late afternoon in this part of the world, the weather begins to ease. it's in the morning where we have thunderstorms brew. so around 3:00 in the afternoon at this moment and early morning

hours of wednesday, thunderstorms once again return to the region. very close to the area of the debris field. tapering off around 1:00 2:00 in the afternoon on wednesday. we see more clearing tomorrow across the debris field. thursday morning, very active weather pattern shapes up. so you would think even if this is the debris field associated with the aircraft it would be a multiweek event when it comes to recovery efforts. the weather pattern, about as bad as it comes, significant waves associated with this. so i would not be surprised if this were associated with the aircraft and they were to continue there could be days including thursday where we would have an operation halted because of the weather pattern. thursday evening, we get a little break, and then friday morning, the weather pattern returns. winds could be 40 to 50 miles per hour over the next couple of

days with waves up to ten feet. areas in blue indicate about 80 or so millimeters of rain. certainly going to have a lot of wind and waves across this region the next couple of days john. >> thanks for that. let's go back now to indonesia. this is the scene right now with the relatives who are being called into the national search and rescue headquarters to receive the news they probably did not want to hear. this is day three of the search. they have just been told, heard from the head of the national search and rescue that he's 95% certain that the debris, which has been located, is from flight 8501. the reason why he's not 100% certain, because he's not seen it himself. that is the area where this debris was found. it's section five of that debris

field. 160,000 square kilometers they were looking at. about the size of greece and they have now narrowed it down because about five hours ago now, an indonesian hercules first spotted debris in the waert. another plane made a passover. then two hours ago another plane took photographs and this is where they are right now. they have spotted an emergency jacket door. life jackets have been seen and a body floating in the water. that was shown on indonesian television. much more on this story. i'll be back after the break with my colleague. please stay with us.

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this is cnn breaking news. >> thanks for staying with us and welcome to our viewers in the united states and around the world. >> a search official in indonesia says he's 95% certain the debris spotted in the eastern java sale is from airasia flight 8501. >> the debris was spotted about six miles from the plane's last known flight position. 162 people were on that flight from surabaya to singapore when it disappeared sunday. >> this was the scene a short time ago as family members were called in to meet with officials at the search and r