http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/missing-jet/malaysia-jet-vanishes-three-americans-plus-one-infant-board-n47516Malaysia Jet Vanishes: Three Americans Plus One Infant On Board
By M. Alex Johnson
A Malaysia Airlines flight carrying 239 people — including four Americans — lost contact with air traffic control and was missing hours after it was supposed to have landed in Beijing, the airline said Saturday.
The airline told NBC News that a search-and-rescue mission was under way for Flight MH370, a Boeing 777-200, and that relatives of those on board were being notified.
The flight from Kuala Lumpur, carrying 227 passengers from 14 countries — including two infants — and 12 crew members, had been scheduled to land at 6:30 a.m. in Beijing (5:30 p.m. ET Friday). But Subang Air Traffic Control in Malaysia reported that it lost contact at 2:40 a.m. (1:40 p.m. ET Friday).
Most of the passengers — 153, including one of the infants — were Chinese, the airline said Saturday. The other infant was an American, one of four on the plane, it said. Thirty-eight people were from Malaysia, and 12 were from Indonesia.
Four Americans Aboard Missing Flight
The airline identified the pilot as Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53, a 23-year veteran of the airline with 18,365 hours of flight experience. The first officer, Fariq Hamid, 27, joined the airlines in 2007 and had 2,763 hours of flight time.
The plane disappeared about two hours into its flight, when it would have been over Vietnamese airspace. The official Chinese news agency Xinhua said the plane never entered Chinese airspace.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with all affected passengers and crew and their family members," the airline said.
Hishammuddin Hussein, Malaysia's defense minister and acting transport minister, took to Twitter to say echo the sentiment, saying he was "shocked."
Boeing told CNBC it was aware of the report and was monitoring the situation.
Michael Palmer, a meteorologist for The Weather Channel, said there were no significant weather conditions in the area.
"It's pretty much clear skies" from Kuala Lampur to Vietnam and the rest of Southeast Asia, Palmer said.
The 777-200 is considered one of the safest aircraft in the world. U.S. aviation records show fewer than 60 incidents, most of them minor, since it made its debut in 1995.
The jet's fire-resistant interior and strong seats were credited with limiting casualties in July when another 777-200, this one operated by Asiana Airlines, crashed at the San Francisco airport. Only two of the 307 people aboard were killed.
Catherine Chomiak, Tracy Connor and Sossy Dombourian of NBC News contributed to this report.
