The disappearance of Flight QZ8501 has sparked a major search and rescue operation, with Indonesian authorities resuming their spotter flights after earlier bouts of bad weather.
Five planes, three helicopters, 12 navy ships and several warships have been deployed so far, and are currently searching the waters surrounding Belitung island in Indonesia, where the AirAsia passenger plane last made contact.
Other countries have also offered their resources to help recover the jet. Singapore has sent three naval vessels to scour the Java Sea, in addition to a C-130 Hercules plane.
An Orion surveillance plane from the Royal Australian Air Force has also left Darwin to join the search effort. Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott pledged his country would do "whatever we humanly can to assist".
The US and India have also expressed a willingness to help, along with officials from Britain and South Korea - two countries which have nationals on board the missing plane.
Any investigation into the disappearance of the AirAsia plane will focus on the aircraft's black box, which has a homing beacon that helps search teams find the jet.
Cockpit voice recorders and flight data will also provide clues about what happened after the flight lost contact with air traffic control just 42 minutes into the journey.
Although the plane was bound for Singapore, Flight QZ8501's last-known location was in Indonesian territory, prompting transport officials to confirm they would lead the investigation.
Stressing it has the expertise to develop an effective search strategy, a spokesman for the Indonesian Transport Ministry said: "Our primary task is to find the plane. We are cooperating with every possible department and relevant countries."
AirAsia's chief executive, Tony Fernandes, added: "We don't want to speculate. By now, of course, the plane has been missing for more than 12 hours and there is a deep sense of depression here."
"But we stay strong and our first priority now is to look after the families and do whatever we can."
The search effort has drawn comparisons to that of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which has not been found since it went missing in March.
There were 239 passengers and crew on board the flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, and it is feared that the plane crashed in the remote Indian Ocean, far off the west coast of Australia.
