on the broadcast tonight, without a trace. a massive search is on for the plane that vanished with 162 people onboard. now the u.s. is being asked to help as loved ones endure agonizing uncertainty. abandon ship. fire ravages a ferry with hundreds of people onboard as crews race against time to get them off safely. going off course. the military couple forced to change their wedding plans because of one of the president's favorite vacation activities. and, animal house. a family opening their home-turned zoo and giving kids who are having a tough time a reason to smile. "nightly news" begins now. from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this

is "nbc nightly news" with brian williams. good evening. i'm lester holt sitting in for brian. the man heading the search for airasia flight 8501 today said what many of us have been thinking, that the plane is likely at the bottom of the sea. it's been roughly 48 hours since the airbus jet with 162 people onboard vanished from radar about halfway along its two-hour flight from surabaya, indonesia, to singapore. the pilots were trying to avoid thunderstorms around the time contact was lost. indonesian authorities admit they don't have a capability to conduct an extensive undersea search and have asked the united states for help. a pentagon spokesman says details of assistance are being worked out. we're covering several angles of this story. we begin in singapore with nbc's katy tur. katy, what's the latest on the search? >> reporter: hi there, lester. it is morning here in singapore. the start of day three with still no sign of this plane.

the search has resumed for the morning, but there are concerns that bad weather could interfere with the effort. ships, helicopters and planes scoured the sea halfway between surabaya indonesia, and singapore, for any sign of the missing plane. flight 8501 took off sunday morning bound for singapore but abruptly dropped from radar after only 42 minutes in the air. there was no distress call. >> right now we don't have a lot of good data to pinpoint the actual location of the wreckage. >> reporter: pilots had asked to change altitude to avoid bad weather. a request that was denied because of air traffic. the weather channel's carl parker. >> we know this flight was traveling about 32,000 feet, we also know there was a very tall thunderstorm ahead of the flight which they did try to get around but were not cleared to. and it's possible that they encountered very strong vertical

winds, there are updrafts and downdrafts in thunderstorms that can exceed 80, even 100 miles per hour. at surabaya, loved ones were comforted by airasia's ceo tony fernandez who flew down only hours after the disappearance. >> we don't really want to speculate until we find the aircraft, we know what went wrong, then we'll look into it and see. >> reporter: a marked difference from the way the malaysia government handled mh-370 which disappeared in march. comparisons between the two flights are seemingly inevitable, but there are lots of differences. unlike mh-370 which flew undetected for hours, air traffic control immediately noticed when this flight went missing. airasia had been upgrading satellite tracking systems, but this particular plane was not yet modified. >> this aircraft will be found, it's just going to take some time. >> reporter: now there are more concerns about the weather. it's monsoon season in southeast asia and rain is expected for the next few days.

while anguished relatives wait in singapore, the head of the indonesian search effort is preparing people for the worst. our evaluation of the coordinates that we received suggested it is under water, so our presumption is now that the aircraft is under the sea, he told reporters. tonight, more questions than answers and hope for anything but another airline tragedy. as for those other flights that landed safely, investigators want to talk to those pilots to see if they have any insight here. we can also confirm that the u.s. is sending the u.s.s. sampson, a destroyer currently in the south china sea. with its help, lester, this will be the fifth country now combing the java sea for this missing flight. >> katy, thanks. we heard severe weather was one of the factors that could have led to this plane's disappearance. many of us have found ourselves gripping the armrest in the cabin when our flights hit bumpy air. the fact is of course that the pilots are trained and the planes are designed to get us through these scary moments.

but how do pilots and airlines know when it's safe to push through? we get our report tonight from nbc's peter alexander. >> reporter: flying in severe weather can be risky. lightning can strike at any moment, high winds, heavy fog, snowstorm. even clear air turbulence can cause passengers to panic, like this american airlines flight from south korea to dallas diverted to japan earlier this month. >> everything that wasn't bolted down or seat belted flew into the air. >> reporter: severe thunderstorms like those encountered by the missing airasia flight can be an airplane and anyone onboard's worst enemy. >> hail, lightning, those vertical downdrafts, thunderstorms are something pilots learn very early you have to avoid at pretty much all cost. you don't fly into thunderstorms. >> reporter: airlines and pilots specifically prepare their flight paths to go above or around storms. >> still, airasia flight 8501 is

drawing comparisons to the sdip air france disaster that plunged into the atlantic after critical equipment iced up in a severe storm. and an air algerie flight that crashed this summer while trying to avoid bad weather. no one survived either crash. planes are designed to withstand extreme elements like lightning strikes. that are estimated to hit each airliner in the u.s. once a year. today's planes are more ruggedly built. bushed to the limit as seen in this video at boeing where the engineers built the 777 wing an estimated 23 feet before they can make it snap. and planes that fly eight miles a minute have radar that can track storms hundreds of miles ahead giving pilots time to plan a detour. >> in the very rare case where someone does enter a thunderstorm, the biggest issue is hail because of the damage it can cause to the leading edges of the wing, the windshield and to the engines. >> reporter: while it's definitely unsettling when you're flying through rough weather, air safety experts insist flying is still the safest way to travel with more than 3.3 billion flying on 38

million flights worldwide. lester? >> peter alexander, thank you. we're joined now by greg feith, our nbc news aviation analyst and a former ntsb investigator. you saw him a moment ago in katy tur's report. i'm going to ask you to put on your pilot's hat. let's look at a typical aircraft weather radar display looking at storms we see the green, yellow, the red. presumably the red is the rough stuff. if you're a pilot looking at this, how do you decide to go around it? >> you look at this graphic and you decide that if you're going and you see red, you want to go away from that red. so whatever it takes. in this particular instance the pilot's going to want to divert his course to the left because that's where green and yellow are, not red. >> what's inside that red that's so dangerous? >> typically in that red, like john talked about earlier, there's hail, there's intense precipitation, there are vertical drafts, up and downdrafts, of course icing conditions. all of those present a real problem for pilots and aircraft. >> greg, we all feel like we've

been here so many times before. flight 447, of course mh-370 and now this. when are we going to have a unified way to track aircraft by satellite? it seems like everything in our lives have gps technology, why not the airplane? >> we've talked about it with mh-370, lester. while the industry knows that the technology exists, a lot of it is about money. airasia is trying to put that equipment on their airplane. unfortunately this airplane wasn't equipped. but the equipment is out there, and i think it's going to take regulatory action to get every airline on board with it. >> greg, good to have you here tonight. thank you. >> thank you. some terrifying moments aboard another flight. this aboard a 747 in the sky above the u.k., made an emergency landing when it discovered a problem with one of its main landing gear. the plane turned back, it circled in the air to burn off fuel and get lighter before making its approach. fortunately it landed without incident.

off the coast of greece, rescue crews have rescued hundreds off a burning ferry. at least ten people died when flames broke out and turned the ship into a floating inferno. those aboard describe utter chaos. as passengers scramble for safety. our report tonight from nbc's keir simmons. >> reporter: hundreds of passengers were trapped on the burning ferry for more than 24 hours in rough sea. lower decks became boiling hot, survivors said. their shoes melted. in the panic, witnesses said some life boats were thrown overboard, empty. there was no help from the crew, this family says. >> no communication. nobody to tell us what to do. i had to look for myself to find a life jacket. i had to put it on my kids by myself. >> reporter: finally, they were >> reporter: finally, they were air-lifted to safety.

while wind speeds reached 46 miles per hour, here a mother and two children who reached up to a helicopter in her arms a very young child. she smiled, we're okay. the ferry was heading from the greek port of patras to ancona, in italy. the ship's manifest lists 478 passengers but there's confusion over whether that's accurate. it's thought fire broke out on the car deck some passengers died jumping into the water. others suffered hypothermia with temperatures in the 30s. the greek and italian prime ministers praise the rescue efforts. and the vessel had passed an inspection, according to its owner. tonight, there are reports that inspectors had questioned the ship's fire safety. while italian prosecutors have already begun a criminal investigation. keir simmons, nbc news, london. we're following some breaking news right now and we have this late update. >> this is joe fryer in los angeles where tonight protesters have taken to the street, angry

over the death of a 25-year-old black man shot and killed by l.a. police in august. >> we have to keep in the streets protesting. we have to protest until there's a new policy. >> reporter: officers say they shot him when he tackled an officer to the ground trying to grab his gun. the officer's partner then fired two shots. >> at about the same time the officer on the ground while on his back grabbed his backup weapon reached around mr. ford and fired one shot at close range, striking mr. ford in the back. >> but ford's friend said she didn't see any struggle. the long awaited autopsy report makes no judgment about what happened. it says ford was shot three times in the side arm, and back. according to the autopsy, the gunshot wound on his back had a muzzle imprint, suggesting a shot made at close range. >> there's nothing in the coroner's report that is inconsistent with the statements given to us by the officers. relatives say ford was mentally

ill. his family has filed a lawsuit against the police department. >> my mom would have been happy with him coming home with busted arms tased, anything. anything but this. >> reporter: tensions are high across the country. the shooting death of michael brown in ferguson and the choking death of eric garner in new york have led to protests and calls for reform. in south l.a. last night, police say two officers were shot at while driving in their patrol car. no one was hurt and one suspect has been arrested. the motive behind the shooting is unclear. >> it is disturbing when people want to hurt our fellow officers. >> reporter: as for the ford case police say the investigation into what happened is expected to last a few more months. still ahead tonight, the reason why the president of the united states is apologizing to a pair of newlyweds. also a kangaroo in the kitchen, otters in the pool and

the family who lives with them all.

talk about every bride's nightmare. you spend months planning your perfect wedding day, you send out the invitations, you're 24 hours away and suddenly you're told you have to change the wedding venue.

that's exactly what happened to a military couple in hawaii when their wedding plans conflicted with the president's golf plans. our report tonight from our senior white house correspondent, chris jansing. >> reporter: it was a match made in military heaven, two west point grads who met while stationed in germany both captains. where better to marry than at their latest posting, on the 16th tee of their base's golf course with sweeping views of the pacific, especially since the groom is an avid golfer. >> once i felt like the details were pretty set, then i got excited. >> reporter: but just 24 hours before the i-dos, a call saying you can't. president obama planned a golf outing at the same time and the nuptials would have to be moved. >> we knew there were two things that could mess up the wedding, one was weather and the other was the president. >> reporter: the couple had invited the president to their wedding, tongue in cheek, and got a polite regret. the white house says no one, including their advance team in hawaii knew the wedding would have to relocate.

and from the phone call the president made to the surprised couple, neither did he. >> congratulations on your wedding. i feel terrible. nobody told us. >> reporter: this isn't the first time the president's golf games have stoked controversy. >> where is priority? >> reporter: the president admitted he made a mistake in august when he hit the links after making a statement about the beheading of american james foley by isis. >> i should have anticipated the optics. >> reporter: and critics pounced when he was on the course in martha's vineyard while sending his attorney general to ferguson, missouri after riots and protests. but this time the couple says no penalty stroke for the president. the ceremony was held just a short distance above the 16th green. >> it's actually even got a better view. it was really a blessing in disguise. >> reporter: you're not just saying this because, well, he's the commander in chief. >> because he's our boss's boss's boss's boss and then a few more, no, not at all. >> reporter: both served in afghanistan. so while a change in venue just hours before a wedding would rattle most of us, for them it was only a momentary hiccup. by the time the president called

ed was more interested in what he shot on the course that day. and the president told him, an 84. lester? >> they have a great story to tell. chris, thanks very much. we're back in a moment with a man who was paid to win and the reason why so many are suddenly out of a job tonight.

if you didn't know any better you might have looked up and thought new year's came early today in times square. organizers of the big bash here in new york did a trial run for their confetti drop with help from the cast of "aladdin" on broadway. about a ton of confetti will fly through the air when the ball drops on wednesday night. there's a reason why they call the day after the nfl's regular season ends black monday. a number of head coaches lost their jobs today after dismal seasons. the new york jets as expected canned coach rex ryan after the team finished 4-12. the chicago bears also fired

their coach, marc trestman. the atlanta falcons did the same to mike smith. coach jim harbaugh and the san francisco 49ers claim they mutually parted ways. there's a lot of expectation that harbaugh will take the head coaching job at the university of michigan. but when the detroit free press ran a headline on it they had the wrong harbaugh that's a picture of jim's brother john the head coach for the baltimore ravens. tourists flock to the french alps this time of year for skiing, but this kind of snow is beyond what anyone had in mind. take a look. a massive snowstorm hit the alps this weekend and stranded about 15,000 travelers in the area. icy roads choked traffic, forcing hundreds to either sleep in their cars or abandon them. before the storm snow had been so light that resorts were using snow machines to cover slopes. having one set of twins is rare enough, having two sets is rarer still in the same family. having two sets of twins at

once, well, there's a one in 70 million chance of that but it actually happened to a utah couple yesterday. tyson and ashley welcomed quad ruplets to the world. they're two sets of identical twins, all of them girls conceived at the same time through in vitro fertilization. maybe you saw mom's reaction to the news she was having four babies when it went viral earlier this year. when we come back, a zoo's worth of animals all in one household and the joy they provide to kids who need it most.

during the holidays with kids home from school and new toys strewn everywhere, may seem like your house is a zoo, but probably not as much as one certain family's house where they actually live with hundreds of exotic animals. for some kids it's a place where nature meets nurture. the story tonight from nbc's hallie jackson. >> reporter: the kangaroo in the kitchen might seem strange until you meet the baby otters having breakfast at the table. >> i can't help but kiss them. >> reporter: out back they're hungry for face time. the 300 animals living at this house moved in five years ago

when the family made a life change after a wildfire destroyed everything they owned. >> in the end that's just stuff. what really got to us emotionally and got us in our hearts was how kind and generous our friends and our community were. we couldn't pay people back monetarily, but we could pay it forward to other people who found themselves in a situation that was difficult. >> reporter: that's why they created a foundation to preserve and protect animals and help kids like zane who's going blind. >> it's life changing words that come to you instantly. you don't expect your kid to have a tumor. >> reporter: zane's on chemotherapy every week to shrink the tumor behind his eyes, but here there's so much to smell and touch and taste. even though cuddles the porcupine seems scary, these swimmers made a splash. the otters like to naturally

play in the water anyway, so coming into the pool helps both the animals and the kids feel really comfortable. >> she gets to feel them on her skin. they tried to go down his swim trunks. it's adorable. >> reporter: you don't need perfect vision to see how much this means. >> to be able to give him something that is maybe not medicinal but spirit lifting is a really good feeling. >> reporter: a small way, very small, to make a big impact. hallie jackson, nbc news, valley center, california. that's our broadcast for this monday night. thank you for being with us. i'm lester holt in for brian. for all of us at nbc news, goodnight.

. right now at 6:00 a blustery cold snap pushing into the bay area. thanks for joining us everyone. i'm terry mcsweeney. i'm janelle wang. temperatures are dropping in time to ring in the new year. with them could come strong winds. chief meteorologist jeff ranieri is tracking it. >> we're continuing to talk about the cold air, at least most of it across canada. drrs are below zero. minus 14 in churchill. we're going to see a small slice

of this movement across california. not going to see long-standing periods of temperatures at 32 and below. no freeze warnings watches ors or advisories issued. temperatures will be dropping down. not the freezing mark. but 44 in walnut creek. 44 in -- danville 46. what we're waiting on is this upper level storm system. not major rainfall. we think over the next three mornings it's going to be blustery out there. winds 15 to 20 miles per hour and temperatures that will range anywhere from 27 to 42 degrees. with that storm system coming in and that wind there is a wind advisory for the entire bay area from noon tomorrow until noon on wednesday. biggest concern with the weather with winds that could hit 40 miles per hour. could have power outages and downed trees. we're tracking a