Is weather to blame for disappearance of AirAsia Flight QZ8501?

(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. That 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 because of bad weather.

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