All 189 passengers of Indonesian airliner crash are presumed dead from the Indonesian plane crash near Jakarta, Monday morning. This is the second-worse crash in Indonesian history since 1997, when 214 people were killed.
At 6:21 A.M. the Boeing 737 Max 8 took off from Jakarta, and was scheduled to arrive at 7:20 am in Pangkal Pinang, an island off the coast of Sumatra. About a minute after takeoff, the jetliner requested permission to return to the airport. No emergency signal was communicated. Around 13 minutes later, ground control lost contact with the plane and witnesses saw the aircraft descend into Karawang Bay, northeast of Jakarta.
The plane, tracked with FlightRadar24, showed a normal takeoff and ascent to standard altitude. Suddenly, it descended 500 feet, steadied, and then veered to the right off it’s intended flight pattern before crashing into the Java Sea.
The plane exhibited a similarly erratic flight pattern on its Sunday trip, pointing to an issue with the pilot-static system (the instruments used to record the flight’s airborne speed and altitude), according to Indonesian aviation expert, Gerry Soejatman. While this could be a factor causing issues with the flight, this is unfortunately only the latest of at least 15 episodes of aircraft malfunction involving Lion Air since they began operating in 2000.
Lion Air is Indonesia’s most popular low-cost airliner. An official from the company stated, “Lion air is very concerned about this incident and will collaborate with relevant agencies and all parties.” The company announced on Wednesday it had fired its technical director. The crash is not only a devastating setback to Lion Air, but it is also a hindrance to the reputation and progress of all Indonesian airlines, who, as an island nation, are dependent on air travel and have made recent steps to improve their poor aviation safety ratings recently.
Debris of the aircraft has been found, though rescue officials are still looking for the fuselage, wreckage and bodies. The Java Sea is relatively shallow, so divers are able to search the bottom, leaving people hopeful they will find the plane and data records soon.
The captain, Bhavye Suneja, had more than 6,000 flight hours of experience, and his copilot had more than 5,000. Boeing 737 Max 8 is brand new by aviation standards, and had only flown 800 hours total before going down. It is also the first fatal accident involving this type of aircraft. Now there is a call to inspect all planes of this model in Indonesia.
The cause of the crash is still a mystery. However, investigators have detected ‘pings’ in the sea that could lead them to find flight recorders, hopefully answering questions as to why the plane went down.