A Lion Air plane crashed into the sea near Jakarta minutes after takeoff, with rescuers scouring the area for survivors. The brand-new aircraft had 189 people on board, according to the airline.
Image: Reuters
Advertisement
An Indonesian airplane operated by budget airline Lion Air crashed shortly after takeoff at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta airport on Monday, authorities confirmed. The aircraft reportedly crashed just 13 minutes after takeoff, likely into the Java Sea.
According to Lion Air, there were a total of 189 people on board, including eight crew members. At least 23 government officials were reportedly among the passengers on the plane, as well as two babies and one older child.
Rescue officials said that contact with the plane was lost over Karawang, in West Java province, not far from the capital.
Muhmmad Syaugi, the head of Indonesia's search and rescue agency, said that rescuers had retrieved some body parts but had so far not found any survivors.
"We don't know yet whether there are any survivors," Syaugi said. "We hope, we pray, but we cannot confirm," he added.
Relatives of passengers on board Lion Air flight JT610 wait for news of survivors Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/H. Sutrisno
Lion Air said that the aircraft was a passenger plane en route to Pangkal Pinang on a Bangka Island, east of Sumatra.
Some 300 people, including police, soldiers and local fishermen are involved in the search. Divers are currently trying to locate the plane's fuselage which is believed to be lying on the sea floor at a depth of around 35 meters (115 feet).
Swedish flight tracking service Flightradar24 reported that the airplane was a Boeing 737 MAX 8 that had been delivered to Lion Air in August. They also wrote on Twitter that "preliminary data show an increase in speed and decrease in altitude at last transmission."
Lion Air told reporters that the plane was airworthy and had only been operated by their company since August. Its pilot and co-pilot had together amassed 11,000 hours of flying time. The weather at the time of the flight had been deemed safe, with a few clouds but no major storms or wind.
Boeing said in a statement that it was "deeply saddened" by news of the crash, adding that it "stands ready to provide technical assistance to the accident investigation."
Air transport is crucial for connecting the country's tens of thousands of islands, but Indonesia has seen a number of airplane crashes in the past few years, including a Lion Air crash near Bali in 2013.
In 2017, Indonesia's air traffic controllers association announced that the rate of take-off and landings in Jakarta permitted by state-run air navigation company AirNav was larger than the airport's capacity, thus increasing the likelihoood of accidents.
law,rs,es/ng (dpa, AP, Reuters)
Europe's major plane crashes of the 21st century
DW takes a look at a few of the most deadly and significant plane crashes in Europe in the 21st century.
Image: AP/Toshihiko Sato
European aviation disasters of the 21st century: Germanwings Airbus A320
A Germanwings Airbus A320 crashed into the French Alps on March 24, 2015 during a flight from Barcelona to Dusseldorf. All 144 passengers and six crew members were killed. A co-pilot with mental problems intentionally crashed the plane.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
Malaysia Airlines flight MH17
Rebels in eastern Ukraine were accused of shooting down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 on July 17, 2014 during a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. All 298 people on board died, 193 of them Dutch. A Dutch investigation found pro-Russian rebels shot the plane down with a Buk surface-to-air missile launched from separatist territory in eastern Ukraine.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/E. Dunand
Polish President Lech Kaczynski killed
A Polish air force plane carrying President Lech Kaczynski crashed near the Russian airport of Smolensk on April 10, 2010. A Russian and Polish investigation found pilot error during landing in thick fog caused the crash that killed more than 90 people. Jaroslaw Kaczynski (pictured), the twin brother of Lech and leader of the ruling PiS, has suggested the crash was a political assassination.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Kaminski
Air France Flight 447
An Air France flight from Rio de Janeiro to Paris crashed in the Atlantic on June 1, 2009, killing all 228 people on board. It took nearly two years for the black box (pictured) to be recovered from the bottom of the ocean. The investigation found a combination of technical and pilot error caused the crash.
Image: picture alliance / dpa
Spanair Flight 5022
A Spanair MD-82 plane crashed after take-off from Madrid airport on August 20, 2008, killing 154 people. Amazingly, 18 people survived the crash and subsequent fire. The crash was caused by an improper flap and slat configuration and a failure of the pilots to follow a pre-flight checklist.
Image: AP
Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise Flight 612
A Russian passenger plane operated by Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise crashed near the eastern Ukraine city of Donetsk on August 22, 2006, killing all 170 people aboard. The plane was flying from St. Petersburg to the Black Sea resort of Anapa.
Image: AP
Helios Airways Flight 522
A Helios Airways flight from Cyprus crashed on August 14, 2005 near its destination Athens, killing all 121 on board. The crash was caused by a loss of cabin pressurization that immobilized the crew. The plane flew on autopilot until it ran out of fuel and crashed.
Image: AP
Überlingen mid-air collision
On the night of July 1, 2002, a DHL cargo plane flying near the southern German town of Überlingen struck a Russian passenger jet carrying mostly schoolchildren to Barcelona, Spain. The two men aboard the DHL plane and all 69 passengers and crew on Bashkirian Airlines Flight 2937 perished. Swiss air traffic control firm Skyguide was found to be at fault for the tragedy.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Haid
SAS Flight 686
On October 8, 2001 a Scandinavian Airlines MD-87 airliner collided with a small Cessna on take-off from Milan's Linate Airport. All 114 people on the SAS and Cessna aircraft were killed, as were four people on the ground. The accident happened in thick fog. The SAS plane crashed into a hangar.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Ansa
Air France Concorde Flight
On July 25, 2000 an Air France Concorde flight from Paris to New York crashed two minutes after take-off, killing 109 people on board and four people on the ground. The crash was caused by the Concorde running over a piece of debris on the runway, which sent tire debris into part of the fuel tank that burst into flames.
