a search set to resume just a few hours from now for a plane that disappeared in the sky with 162 people on board. the flight vanished in air space that was apparently thick with dense storm clouds, strong winds, thunderstorms and lightning. it had taken off from indonesia and was heading to singapore a

flight that should have lasted just under two hours. the last communication was apparently when the pilot asked to avoid clouds by turping left and going higher. then a minute later, the plane was lost. terry -- is live from malaysia with the latest. >> yes, good evening, well, good morning here. >> so, tell me now as the search will resume, the reason it was called off was apparently due to bad weather. many are wondering why this flight was allowed to take off in the first place if there were surrounding thunderstorms and such tur lent air in the region. >> one of the questions is is just how bad the weather was. experts that i spoke to said the pilots asked for exactly the right procedure to go up over it. we're still not sure, we're still looking at just how bad the weather was. but when it took off, it was okay. this is the monsoon season here. whether comes in very, very

quickly and it's very hard to predict sometimes. >> and so, with the weather being hard to predict then i would assume this is nothing unusual despite being in the monsoon season, the fact there are these thunderstorms and downdrafts that can be extremely violent and dangerous to fly through. >> yes, it's nothing unusual at all about that in this part of the world. i fly regularly, just flew back from thailand a few days ago through a thunderstorm. that's part of living in southeast asia. it was normal, standard procedure. nobody's questioning whether the plane should have been allowed to take off or not. just wondering why there was no response. >> there also haven't been much questioning as far as the updated equipment on the plane. apparently, it was put into service in 2009. it was update edd with the most latest technology. that potentially could have seen this on its radar. is the weather radar systems on

these planes accurate enough? >> yes, it is. this plane was also last serviced on november 16. so everything had been checked. everything was working. this part of the world is quite a modern plane, a very good, safe plane. air asia has a very good safety record. this is the first plane they've lost. everything seemed to be perfectly normal. >> all right, terry, live from malaysia malaysia, thank you very much for updating us. eric? >> well as you noticed, there were dense storm clouds in the area where the flight disappeared. thunderstorms totalled 50,000 feet. that's far above the operational ceiling for an airbus prompting concerns this could be weather related. if that's the case it would not be the first time in recent history. brian yan tis has more from our new york city news room.

>> there have been six major crashes over the past decade where weather conditions played a big role. in 2005, two separate planes crashed during landing during a severe hailstorm. in july of this year, a transasia airplane crashed in taiwan killing dozens during an emergency landing in bad weather. four of those flights crashed during takeoff and landing. the most risky part of flying, but two other crashes, airfrance flight 447 and flight 612 crashed in midair and most closely resemble what may have happened to -- maneuver past the storm in high altitude before it disappeared. in august of 2006, the flight crashed in ukraine. flight 612 was cruising about

35,000 feet when investigators say pilots lost control while manually attempting to avert bad weather by climbing over high thunderstorm clouds. the plane hit severe turbulence, stalled and crashed, killing all 170 people on board. >> oftentimes when a pilot is trying to get out of a storm they're really trying to save the aircraft. they're really doing all kinds of heroic measures trying to save an aircraft and when you're in a storm and the engine is literally choking like you're choking yourself you're trying to get power back. >> in 2009 airfrance flight 447 crashed over the atlantic killing 228 people on board. the plane's speed sensors were clogged with ice at high altitudes during thunderstorms. investigators ultimately blame that technical malfunction and inadequately trained pilots for failing to properly manually

control the plane during high tesh lens. just 10% of crashes since 2004 occurred while a plane was in mid flight. >> there were huge thunderstorms a t the time the flight vanished and here you can actually see the storm activity take a look at this. in the area during the time the plane lost radar contact and then disappeared. this is satellite picture. we know the pilot even asked to change his flight path because of all this severe weather in the area. joining me now is aviation analyst and faa licensed pilot. thank you so much for talking to us. it seems this flight was lost due to weather. it is monsoon season in the sumatra island area. we know the pilot did radar air traffic control.

was the plane equipped for this elevation? >> the ceiling is about 39000 feet, so 50,000 feet it would never get up that high. even if he was operating above that altitude. >> it was serviced in 2009. so apparently as a result, the technology the radar system would be reliable, do you believe the pilot saw something that didn't exist? >> that's the case. if the pilots are traveling and see a thunderstorm, normally, they would deviate by about 20 miles around the storm. in this instance he was probably searching for a hole in

the thunderstorm and couldn't find a hole or was maneuvering too close to the center of the cell. >> let's talk about the tubes. we've been hearing that word being repeated a lot today. that's because they were a huge concern with airbus aircraft for some time. according to our meteorologist, just compare that flight to today's. rick wright our meteorologist says icing in this case is almost impossible, even at 32,000 feet that the temperature would not be cold enough to cause significant icing, so that icing is not an issue. >> in my opinion, that is exactly right. from what i'm hearing at that altitude, the temperatures would not create icing on the aircraft tube. there are heating elements on that tube. and back up systems.

the chance of that fail inging is slim. >> okay and then if you're running into dangerous weather as a pilot, what do you do. say you don't rely on that radar. is it better to fly through the storm instead of trying to climb over them especially when you consider these storms ranged upward of 20,000 feet above the current altitude? >> just basic aeronautics, get yourself out of the situation. >> really? >> these might have been rapidly developing cells. they might have seen a hole where they thought they could get through and they were developing so rapidly that it closed in. >> it's interesting because eric was talking to an expert and you brought that up, that taking a plane and flying it around 180 degrees, just turning around may be a perfect solution and our earlier guest didn't think that would be the solution. i guess it's pilot decision at the time. are pilots trained, how are they

trained to deal with this sort of thing? is there a certain protocall? >> well it would be to look for a hole. the best thing to do is actually to avoid it all together. >> in this area it seems impossible because it's monsoon season. these flights are constantly flying in and out of thunderstorms. >> that is true and keep in mind, the pilots in this area are doing this every single day, so they have a high, tremendous level of confidence while flying the airplane. the it's just hard to tell at this point. they probably thought they could penetrate without a problem. >> and there's also lightning with these thunderstorms. is it possible lightning struck the aircraft? >> it's pretty common hitting airliners. a minor concern but the turbulence, that's the big problem there. >> severe enough turbulence could rip apart a plane. a scary thought to imagine with the adults on the plane, 16 children, one infant, it's

horrifying. >> very sad. >> our hearts go out foth families as we pray for them today. thanks. >> the ariel search for the plane resumes in just a few hours from now, about an hour and a half when it will be daybreak and airasia is the secondary carrier based in malaysia to have an airline vainish without warning. meanwhile hundreds were trapped on a ferry that caught fire. we'll have the latest on the efforts to save those passengers.

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ght, so this tylenol arthritis lasts 8 hours but aleve can last 12 hours. and aleve is proven to work better on pain than tylenol arthritis. so why am i still thinking about this? how are ya? good. aleve. proven better on pain. time for a quick look at some of the headlines making new s news around the world. italian and greek emergency crews are working to air lift passengers off of a burning ferry in the sea. at least one person has died.

the boat was carrying more than 500 people when a fire broke out on the lower deck. at least 150 people have been rescued, but more than 300 others are still trapped. another tragic boating accident happening not far from the fire. at least one crew member is dead and several missing after rough seas and poor weather conditions. and intense clashes between islamic state terrorists and kurdish fighters in kobani. fighters have been advancing there with the support of iraqi government troops. >> the disappearance of airasia flight 8501 marking the second time this year that the major airliner actually vanished in mid light. it happened shortly after the pilot requested a change of altitude because of thunderstorm clouds, but as this investigation unfolds authorities will be looking at more than the weather. there have been concerns about

the pit it tubes. they come out of the aircraft in side going forward and they determine and get the air speed based on the amount of air in the pressure of the air that's going into the tube. that's how you get your air speed. the crash back in 2009, those tubes, two of the three actually froze up and that actually caused the computer system on board that flight to just be totally out of whack and sadly, tragically, the pilots on board did not realize what was happening, that the plane was going into a stall, that they were on altitude because the computerized system and the information was totally wrong and incorrect because the tubes were frozen and this has been a case in other air crashes. we're also told as 34,000 feet where this pilot said he wants to make a left and go to a higher altitude to get out of those thunderstorms, that perhaps there wasn't enough ice or icing would not have been the possibility at that 32,000

altitude or so. these some of the questions thask part of the investigations that are now on going. a little later on this newscast, we'll take a look at what the issue of the tube is if that could have happened in this case potentially if that is a continuing case and a problem, especially when you're dealing with these airbus aircraft that in the past has frozen up and finally, british airlines boeing 777 crasheded just short of the runway in heathrow because of ice crystals. those are some of the questions that we'll be raising throughout our newscast. president obama getting briefed on the flight during his vacation in hawaii. meantime, the president is also marking the end of a u.s. military combat mission in afghanistan, releaseing a statement saying the war there is come tog a quote, responsible conclusion. traveling with the president he joins us live from honolulu,

hawaii. >> in this statement, the president once again thanked the troops for their immense sacrifice over the past 13 years. 2,224 u.s. soldiers were killed in the war in afghanistan. the country's longest war and today, it is officially over. in a ceremony in kabul, they lowered the isaf flag, the international security assistance force now turns the job over to the afghan government. its president was there at the ceremony along with the u.s. commander army general. >> complete the combat mission -- >> on christmas day, president obama greeted marines here in hawaii. he essentially declared mission accomplished when he said

afghanistan would never again be a place where an attack against the u.s. would be launched. the president's statement today said we are safer and our nation is more secure because of their services. our courageous military helped the afghan people reclaim their community, but then a more sobering reality. afghanistan, heb, remains a dangerous place and the afghan people and their security forces continue to make tremendous sacrifices in defense of their country. 2014 has been a devastating year for the afghan people and their military. 5,000 soldiers have been killed along with 10000 civilians. the most since the u.n. began tracking in 2009. just yesterday, two teenage boys were killed in an attack in afghanistan. the u.s. will leave behind 11,000 troops in 2015. they will train advise and help the afghan forces as much they can. some will also be there to do counterintelligence, counterterrorism operations. julie? >> dan springer thank you very

much. >> we'll have continuing coverage of the michiganing flight 8501 throughout today. families now on edge. they are anxiously waiting any possible word about the status of their loved ones on board that flight. this is questions are being raised about the weather, pilot systems and what could have gone wrong.

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fly around it or get under it, but that area is notorious for thunderstorms. might be better to turn around and go back. >> also a lot of talk about the pit tubes in which those pit tubes froze up and caused the computer systems to go out of whack. this happened several times with airbus planes. let me read something from flight safety which indicates there were several incidents. the crew of u.s. airplane was using the on board weather radar system to avoid thunderstorms. flying over japan at flight level 390. the airplane entered an area of cirrus clouds with light turbulence and moderate rain with brief period of intense rain. the auto pilot and auto throttle disengaged, fluctuateing air speeds were indicating and a stall warning were generated. the incidents were inship it aed

with two of three pit tubes were blocked. are you concerned this to have happened here and what happens in the cockpit when you get these whacky readings. >> the pitot tubes are, indeed something that's a problem. they are not made by airbus they are made by a vendor. there's a second one i'm not sure which one was the problem. pilots should have been trained how to fly through these events. i know that northwest airlines on the a-330 which is the same plane of the air france in the atlantic had some incidents but they were trained to fly through them. air france didn't. air france is the only one where an airbus did crash, so one would hope that if the pitot tubes in this case froze over the pilots would have training.

but that could be any number of things that caused an upset here. >> this has been going on quickly about five years from now. what can we learn from this? >> first, it's time that the regulators band aid that you have real-time tracking on inging the airplanes. you have air france in 2009 where it took months to locate the main wreckage two years to recover the black boxes. you have malaysia 370 from earlier this year that they still don't know where the airplane is. now you got this flight where it really in wasn't, you know, that far off shore. we don't know where the airplane is. it's a regulators to main date real-time tracking. >> it's 12 hours plus going on and still the wreckage has not been found. 3:56 in the morning that search about to resume. scott hamilton thank you for joining us. >> you're welcome. >> we'll have much more coming up on the disappearance of

airasia flight 8501. an aerial search expected to resume in under two hours. coming up i'll be speaking live with former navy pilot chuck nash on what may have gone wrong. a lot of unanswered questions. we'll try to get to it in just a few minutes. there's a new way to buy a car. just find the one you're looking for see what others paid for it, lock in your savings and get the car you want hassle-free. with truecar it's never been easier.

this is a fox news alert. we're continuing our coverage of the missing airasia plane. rescue crews are searching 100 square miles of the indonesian waters for that mying airliner. it disappeared with 162 people on board. right now we're told that ships from three nations are already involved. this is the united states state department says that the embassy in indonesiastanding by ready to assist if asked. search planes are grounded due to rough weather and darkness but expected to resume in 90 minutes from now when it will be sunrise and daylight once again. hello, everyone. welcome to a brand new