Jakarta, Indonesia: An Indonesian passenger jet carrying about 100 people sent out a distress signal on Monday before the airline lost contact with the plane, Indonesia's transport minister told an Indonesian radio program.
"Let's hope the plane had an emergency landing," he told El-Shinta radio.
An official with the airline, Adam Air, said the Boeing 737-400 was carrying 96 passengers and six crew members.
Adam Air said it was setting up an information center for families of passengers.
The airline said the plane was heading to Manado on Sulawesi island. It had originated in Jakarta with a stopover in Surabaya, on Java Island.
A senior transport ministry official, Ichsan Tatang, told The Associated Press aviation authorities were investigating whether other flights might have picked up the plane's distress signal.
An Indonesian air traffic controller, Bhabr, told Metro TV the plane hit "very bad" weather and may have run out of fuel because, if still airborne, would be "over its (fuel) limit." Bhabr, like many Indonesians, uses only one name.
Adam Air is a privately owned low-cost airline that began operations in Indonesia several years ago. Most of its flights are domestic.
Last year, one of its jetliners lost all communication and navigation systems for four hours during a flight between the Indonesian capital Jakarta and Makassar on Sulawesi Island forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing.
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