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Indonesian Lion Air plane crashes into sea with 189 passengers, crew
JAKARTA, Oct 29, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – A brand new Indonesian Lion Air plane
carrying 189 passengers and crew crashed into the sea Monday, officials said,
as the carrier acknowledged that the jet had previously been grounded for
repairs.
The Boeing-737 MAX, which went into service just months ago, vanished from
radar 13 minutes after taking off from Jakarta, plunging into the Java Sea
moments after it had asked to be allowed to return to the Indonesian capital.
Websites that display flight data showed the plane speeding up as it
suddenly lost altitude in the minutes before it disappeared.
Video footage apparently filmed at the scene of the crash showed a slick of
fuel on the surface of the water.
Pictures also emerged of debris, including what appeared to be an emergency
slide, and bits of wreckage bearing Lion Air’s logo.
The plane had been en route to Pangkal Pinang city, a jumping off point for
beach-and-sun seeking tourists on nearby Belitung island, when it dropped out
of contact around 6.30 am (2330 GMT).
It was not yet known if there were any foreigners on board.
A search and rescue operation swung into gear, with organisers saying the
plane was in water about 30 to 40 metres deep.
Images filmed at Pangkal Pinang’s main airport showed families of
passengers crying and hugging each other, with some yelling “Oh god”.
“This morning he called asking about our youngest son,” said a sobbing
Ermayati, referring to her 45-year-old husband Muhammed Syafii, who was on
board.
Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC) said there were
178 adult passengers, one child, two infants, two pilots and six cabin crew
on board flight JT 610.
The transport ministry had initially said there was a total of 188 people
on board.
The finance ministry said around 20 of its employees were on the plane.
“I still hope for a miracle that some passengers are still alive,” said
Sendi Arika, whose uncle was on the flight.
Lion Air said the plane had only gone into service in August.
The pilot and co-pilot had more than 11,000 hours of flying time between
them, had recent medical checkups and had undergone drug testing, it added.
Lion Air CEO Edward Sirait said the plane had an unspecified technical
issue fixed in Bali before it was flown back to Jakarta.
“Engineers in Jakarta received notes and did another repair before it took
off” on Monday, Edward Sirait told AFP, calling it “normal procedure”.
– Poor safety record –
US-based Boeing said it was “deeply saddened” by news of the crash.
Indonesia relies heavily on air transport to connect its thousands of
islands but has a poor aviation safety record and has suffered several fatal
crashes in recent years.
In August 2015, a commercial passenger aircraft operated by Indonesian
carrier Trigana crashed in Papua due to bad weather, killing all 54 people on
board.
In 2014, an AirAsia plane crashed with the loss of 162 lives, with
chronically faulty component in a rudder control system, poor maintenance and
the pilots’ inadequate response blamed.
Lion, a low-cost airline which has engaged in a huge expansion in recent
years, has been involved in a number of incidents including a fatal 2004
crash.
Last year one of its Boeing jets collided with a Wings Air plane as it
landed at Kualanamu airport on the island of Sumatra, although no one was
injured.
In May 2016, two Lion Air planes collided at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta
airport, while a month earlier an aircraft operated by Batik Air — part of
the Lion Group — clipped a TransNusa plane.
However, in 2004, two dozen people were killed when a Lion Air flight from
Jakarta skidded off a rain-slicked runway after landing in the Central Java
city of Solo.
Earlier this year, Lion Air announced it as buying 50 Boeing 737 Max 10
jets for $6.24 billion.
Boeing, just days out from its first commercial delivery of the 737 Max in
May last year, reportedly suspended its release due to an engine issue,
according to airline safety and product review site airlineratings.com.
It said the engines were a product of a joint venture between US-based
General Electric and France’s Safran Aircraft Engines.
Indonesia’s air travel industry is booming, with the number of domestic
passengers growing significantly over the past decade, but it has acquired a
reputation for poor regulation.
BSS/AFP/MRI/1519 HRS