AirAsia tragedy leaves many baffled: Your Say

An AirAsia jet with 162 on board disappeared in stormy weather Sunday. It was bound for Singapore from Surabaya, Indonesia. Letter to the editor:

Given the reality of global climate change, which will result in ever-increasing severity and frequency of challenging weather conditions around the world, air traffic controllers and pilots must be made more cognizant of and better able to follow severe weather events in real time ("Objects spotted in sea in missing jet search ruled out").

That way, they can work together to help planes steer clear of trouble. Pilots must also be better trained to handle severe weather.

There have been far too many crashes likely caused by bad weather, which is inexcusable in an age of high-tech weather monitoring and quick updates.

Michael Pravica; Henderson, Nev.

Comments from Facebook are edited for clarity and grammar:

I can't believe that in this day and age when everyone has a GPS equipped smartphone tracking their location, that they cannot do the same for an aircraft!

Surely it would be simple enough to install the equipment needed to do that and also make it tamper proof. That way, missing planes could be found. The technology must exist. It just seems as if no one wants to use it for anything other than spying.

— Shawn Stark

Officials saying the plane is at the "bottom of the sea" doesn't set anyone's mind at rest and leaves the families of the missing wondering. This is not acceptable.

We have equipment that can go deep into the oceans and send back pictures. Let's find these planes so the dead can be accounted for.

— Julie Cooper

It takes awhile to make improvements on tracking planes, especially in remote areas.

— Jon Leady

Tracking technology won't keep airplanes in the air; it only helps find the wreckage and bodies sooner. That doesn't sound very cost effective.

— David Stafne

Installing the technology would be cost effective for a recovery effort. Look how much was spent to keep searching for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight, not to mention the emotional cost to the families.

— Lisa Cohen

These tragedies make me wonder about the quality of the facilities responsible for maintenance of airplanes in the region.

— Russell Thompson

This is very sad. I cannot imagine what is going on. This is the third airline catastrophe for the region.

The whole airline industry should definitely take extra care. We need better air safety.

— Shahed Ahmed