Aviation experts are examining the data, conspiracy theorists are working up offbeat explanations, and grieving friends and family are seeking closure.
While Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the AirAsia crisis on Sunday was "not a mystery like the MH370 disappearance and not an atrocity like the MH17 shooting down", the key question remains: What happened?
Most aviation experts agree that bad weather played some role in the disappearance of the AirAsia A320 aircraft.
Shortly before losing contact, the pilot requested permission to ascend to 38,000 feet to avoid thick cloud, Indonesian Transport Ministry official Djoko Murjatmodjo said. "The weather was not good."
The Indonesian Meteorology and Geophysics Agency also said it had recorded cumulonimbus clouds – a dense type that can produce lightning, hail and tornadoes – over Borneo waters where the Airbus plane disappeared off radar.
It is monsoon season in the region, and Indonesia and Malaysia have been inundated with torrential rain and severe flooding. The bad weather also delayed earlier search efforts.
"Weather is a factor, but whether it's the primary or contributing factor we don't know yet. There will be multiple factors," Indonesian aviation consultant Gerry Soejatman said on Twitter.
Rough weather has been found to be the culprit behind air disasters in the past, including the Air France 447 crash five years ago, which investigators concluded was caused by weather, human errors, and technical failures.
Geoffrey Thomas, editor of airlineratings.com, said the AirAsia pilot most likely hit bad weather and flew too slow while trying to avoid it, inducing the "aerodynamic stall" experienced by AF447.
"The QZ8501 was flying too slow, about 100 knots, which is about 160km/h, too slow. At that altitude that's exceedingly dangerous," he said.
"I have a radar plot which shows him at 36,000 feet and climbing at a speed of 353 knots, which is approximately 100 knots too slow ... if the radar return is correct, he appears to be going too slow for the altitude he is flying at."
Another possibility is some type of catastrophic metal fatigue caused by the cycle of pressurisation and depressurisation associated with each takeoff and landing cycle.
The missing AirAsia plane had 13,600 takeoffs and landings. Many occurred in humid climate, which speeds corrosion. But metal fatigue is unlikely because this plane is only six years old.
The theory that the QZ8501 passengers were victims of a terrorist attack has also surfaced on the internet, much like in the aftermath of MH370.
But soon after the plane disappeared, US agents scoured through its latest intelligence and found no signs of a terrorist threat or "other foul play", the New York Times reported.
Three air disasters linked with Malaysia in one year has sparked dozens of conspiracy theories. The disappearance of MH370 in early March remains the greatest mystery in commercial aviation history.
Some of the more outlandish explanations being discussed by conspiracy theorists include: that a terrorist group is collecting planes to later use as missiles; that a world superpower is downing planes as a form of economic terrorism against Asia; and that an evil genius is testing their "remote pilot override capabilities".
On Monday, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the focus was on locating the wreckage of MH370. "Until the plane is located, any theories about MH370 or any theories about this AirAsia flight are just speculation," she added.
AirAsia chief executive Tony Fernandes said in Jakarta the aviation group had transported 220 million passengers in 13 years, and never had they lost a life.
The budget airline said the Indonesian pilot was experienced and the plane last had maintenance in mid-November. Airbus said in a statement the plane was delivered in 2008 and had accumulated about 23,000 flight hours in some 13,600 flights.
with AP
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