( CNN ) The passengers and crew aboard AirAsia Flight QZ8501 expected to land in Singapore at 8:30 a.m. on Sunday , after a flight of just over two hours . They departed Juanda International Airport in Indonesia 's East Java early that morning , but amid increasingly bad weather one of the pilots requested to deviate from their planned route , AirAsia said in a statement . Although little is known about the aircraft 's disappearance , the region has been struck by torrential rain -- which has some speculating that inclement weather could have played a role in the flight 's disappearance . The plane was still traceable about five minutes before it disappeared , according to Indonesian state media . One minute before it lost contact , the pilot requested to raise the plane 's flying altitude due to bad weather . CNN meteorologist Karen Maginnis says that this maneuver could have been made in order to avoid turbulence . `` Turbulence does n't bring an aircraft down , '' Maginnis said . `` It may be a pilot reaction to the turbulence . It may be perhaps it got too close to a thunderstorm . There could be so many variables . '' It 's unclear where the diversion took place , but CNN 's aviation expert Richard Quest says that 's where investigators ' attention should focus . `` Bad weather per se does not bring down aircraft , '' he said . `` How the pilot may respond to bad weather could be an issue in this case . '' AirAsia statement on missing airliner . Torrential rains . The region has been plagued by heavy rain and severe flooding in recent weeks -- something that the pilots should have been acutely aware of and trained to respond to , according to Maginnis . `` It is typical they would encounter monsoon weather , '' Maginnis said . `` They ( the pilots ) would have had monsoon training . '' With around 8,000 flying hours between them , the pilots could be considered `` moderately experienced , '' Quest said . Tony Fernandes , the CEO and founder of AirAsia , told CNN 's Andrew Stevens that the captain had 20,000 hours of flying experience , 7,000 of which were with AirAsia on the same model of plane that disappeared . Mary Schiavo , CNN aviation analyst and former inspector general of the U.S. Department of Transportation , said weather can change quickly and there may have been little time to act . `` This weather system might have built up very quickly and they 're on their own up there . With the weather up to 52,000 feet , and the operation ceiling is up to about 40,000 on this plane , so they might not have had many options , '' she said . Search and rescue . The plane was flying through Indonesian-monitored airspace -- or Indonesia 's flight information region -- when contact was lost , according to AirAsia . Several hours after it disappeared , Malaysia 's Ministry of Transport confirmed the Indonesian government had started a search and rescue mission for the missing plane . `` They need to be searching the water but not necessarily for a plane , they need to be searching for any clues , '' Schiavo said . The flight 's original flight path , a journey of 1,362 kilometers ( 846 miles ) , took it over the Java Sea . And while the search wo n't cover as large an area as that of MH370 , the Malaysia Airlines flight that disappeared in March , it is still a `` broad area , '' which will be affected by weather , according to Maginnis .
AirAsia flight disappears during approach to Singapore . Pilot requested evacuation due to bad weather . ` ` Bad weather per se does not bring down aircraft , '' said CNN 's Richard Nelson . Thunderstorms may have been too high for plane to fly over .