Crews Scour Waters in Search for Missing AirAsia Jet

Search crews report they've spotted oil slicks and objects floating in the ocean, two days after an AirAsia jet disappeared over the Java Sea with 162 people on board.

It's still too early to know if the debris is from missing Flight QZ8501. Crews have scoured Indonesian waters since Sunday when the flight simply vanished. Officials believe bad weather played a role in bringing down the airliner.

"We don't want to speculate anymore. There's a deep sense of depression here, but we'll stay strong," Tony Fernandes, chief executive officer for AirAsia, said.

In the pilot's last radio contact he requested clearance to circumvent rough weather. He then increased his altitude from 32,000 feet to 38,000.

Five minutes later the plane disappeared from Indonesian radar without ever issuing a distress signal. According to the transportation ministry, both the airline and the airplane have good safety records and the pilot was experienced.

Experts say they're skeptical that weather alone brought the plane down.

"It's hard to imagine how a thunderstorm would bring down an airplane with as experienced as the crew is," said Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Steve Ganyard, a former fighter pilot. "I think we will probably find that weather was a contributing factor but was not probably the sole reason this airplane was brought down."

Indonesian crews say they will focus on searching the waters of the Java Sea. Australia, Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea all sent ships and aircraft to join the search.

Indonesia is reportedly using underwater technology provided by the United States, Britain, and France.

The disappearance comes after Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 vanished in March and Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 went down over Ukraine last July.