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Updated
October 29, 2018 15:11:46
A Lion Air plane carrying at least 188 people has crashed into the ocean after taking off from Jakarta, according to Indonesia’s search and rescue agency.
Search and rescue authorities have found debris, including life jackets and body parts, in the sea off the north coast of Java.
Divers are in the water looking for more bodies. There are no reports of survivors.
Muhmmad Syaugi, the head of the search and rescue agency, said authorities were “praying” for survivors to be found.
“We don’t know yet whether there are any survivors,” Mr Syaugi told a news conference.
“We hope, we pray, but we cannot confirm.”
Indonesia’s disaster agency tweeted photos of a crushed smartphone, books, bags and parts of the aircraft fuselage that had been collected by search and rescue vessels that have converged on the area.
Yusuf Latif, a spokesman for Lion Air, said the pilot reported technical difficulties shortly after take-off, and the plane lost contact 13 minutes afterwards.
He said a tug boat crew leaving the capital’s port had seen the craft falling.
Preliminary flight tracking data from air tracking service Flightradar24 showed the aircraft climbed to around 5,000 feet (1,524 metres) before losing — and then regaining — height, and then finally falling towards the sea.
It was last recorded at 3,650 feet (1,113 metres) and its speed had risen to 345 knots, according to raw data captured by the website, which could not immediately be confirmed.
Its last recorded position was about 15 kilometres north of the Indonesian coastline, according to a Google Maps reference of the last coordinates reported by Flightradar24.
The jet was a Boeing 737 MAX 8, according to Flightradar 24.
Flight JT610 took off around 6:20am and was due to have landed in the capital of the Bangka-Belitung tin mining hub at 7:20am, the tracking service showed.
“We cannot give any comment at this moment,” said Edward Sirait, chief executive of Lion Air Group.
“We are trying to collect all the information and data.”
Lion Air is one of Indonesia’s youngest and biggest airlines, flying to dozens of domestic and international destinations.
In 2013, one of its Boeing 737-800 jets missed the runway while landing on the resort island of Bali, crashing into the sea without causing any fatalities among the 108 people on board.
This accident is the first to be reported that involves the popular Boeing 737 MAX, an updated, more fuel-efficient version of the manufacturer’s workhorse single-aisle jet.
The first Boeing 737 MAX jets were introduced into service in 2017.
Lion Air’s Malaysian subsidiary, Malindo Air, received the very first global delivery.
Topics:
air-and-space,
accidents,
disasters-and-accidents,
indonesia,
sumatra
First posted
October 29, 2018 13:39:34
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