Doomed Indonesian plane with 189 on board

PAKISJAYA, Indonesia (Reuters) – An Indonesian aircraft with 189 people on board crashed into the sea on Monday as it was back to capital, Jakarta, from where it was taken said.

Lion Air flight JT610, an almost new Boeing 737 MAX 8, was en route to Pangkal Pinang, capital of the Bangka-Belitung tin mining region. About 15 km (9 miles) off the coast.

Indonesia is one of the world's fastest growing markets, but its safety record is patchy. If all aboard have died, the crash will be the country's second-worst air disaster since 1997, industry experts said.

The pilot was asked to return to base (RTB) after the plane took off from Jakarta. It lost touch with ground staff after 13 minutes.

"Soerjanto Tjahjono, head of Indonesia 's transport safety committee, told reporters, referring to the pilot' s request.

"We hope the black box is not far from the wreckage so it can be found soon," he said, referring to the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder.

Muhmmad Syaugi has been told that it has had an emergency response.

Yusuf Latief, spokesman of national search and rescue agency, said there were no survivors.

At least 23 government officials, four employees of the PTT Timah state and three employees of a Timah subsidiary, were on the plane. A Lion Air official said one Italian passenger and one Indian pilot were on board.

The plane went down in waters about 30 meters to 35 meters (98 to 115 ft) deep. These items have been found, along with the body parts.

Ambulances were lined up at Karawang, on the east coast of Jakarta, and police were preparing rubber dinghies, a Reuters reporter said. Fishing boats were being used to help search.

Edward Sirait, chief executive officer of the Lion Air Group, told reporters that the aircraft had been "resolved according to procedure".

It would have declined to specify the nature of the issue but said that it had the same problem. Lion had operated 11 Boeing 737 MAX 8s and he had no plan to ground the rest of them, he said.

The Boeing 737 MAX, an updated, more fuel-efficient version of the manufacturer's workhorse single-aisle jet.

Privately owned Lion Air said the aircraft had accumulated 11,000 hours of flying time.

'BE PATIENT'

Safety experts say that accidents are caused by a combination of factors and only a single identifiable cause.

Pangkal Pinang at 7.20 a.m.

Distraught about those on board at the airport in Jakarta and Pangkal Pinang.

"Be patient, pray the best for dad," one woman arriving at Jakarta airport told a sobbing girl.

The woman declined to speak to reporters.

President Joko Widodo told a news conference on the subject of research and rescue, and he called for the country's prayers and support.

The effort to find the wreckage and retrieves the black boxes represents a major challenge for investigators in Indonesia, where an AirAsia Airbus jet crashed into the Java Sea in December 2014.

Under international rules, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board will automatically assist with the inquiry, backed up by technical advisers from Boeing and U.S.-French engine maker CFM International, co-owned by General Electric and Safran.

Boeing has been deeply saddened by the loss, it is said in a statement, and is ready to provide technical assistance for the investigation.

Data from FlightRadar24 shows the first sign of something about two minutes into the flight, when the plane had reached 2,000 feet (610 m).

It descended more than 500 feet (152 m), where it stayed during most of the rest of the flight.

It began to gain momentum in the final moments and reached 345 knots (397 mph) before it was lost when it was at 3,650 feet (1,113 m).

Indonesia's worst air disaster was in 1997, when a Garuda Indonesia A300 crashed into the city of Medan, killing 214 people.

Founded in 1999, Lion Air's only fatal accident was in 2004, when an MD-82 crashed upon landing at Solo City, killing 25 of the 163 on board, the Flight Safety Foundation's Aviation Safety Network says.

In April, the airline announced a firm order to buy 50 Boeing 737 MAX 10 narrowbody jets with a price list of $ 6.24 trillion. It is one of the U.S. planemaker's largest customers globally.