Indonesia’s transport minister has confirmed that a plane carrying 62 people has crashed into the sea.
Sriwijaya Air passenger jet crashed into Jakarta Bay near an island with 12 crew and 50 passengers. The plane was traveling from the capital of Jakarta to Pontianak in West Kalimantan province and lost contact with air traffic control shortly after taking off on Saturday.
Image: FlightRadar 24
Transport minister Budi Karya Sumadi confirmed that the plane has indeed crashed into the sea and everyone onboard is missing at this time.
Jakarta Search and Rescue announced on their Twitter account that searchers have found debris in Jakarta Bay but it has not been confirmed if it was from the plane.
Videos appearing on social media show search and rescue officers holding up debris that was allegedly from the crash.
Video reportedly shows debris from Sriwijaya Air flight SJ182 after disappearing from radar on take off from Jakarta airport. Number of passengers and crew on board is currently unknown. https://t.co/LeQlvgiUHy pic.twitter.com/BhHSdFIsbz
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@breakingavnews) January 9, 2021
Head of Indonesia’s search and rescue, Bagus Puruhito, said that teams are searching the waters north of Jakarta but the plane's radio beacon has not yet been detected in the area.
“Flight SJ 182 lost more than 10,000 feet of altitude in less than one minute, about 4 minutes after departure from Jakarta”, reported Flightradar24.
According to Rear Admiral Abdul Rasyid, the Indonesian Navy has sent 5 battleships and diving specialists to the area to search for the missing plane.
Sriwijaya Air released a statement saying that they are ‘gathering official information' and will issue a press release once its confirmed.
The area where possible debris from the plane is know as the Thousands Islands. According to the New York Times, Indonesia has a poor aviation safety record with the rapid growth of budget airlines.
Sriwijaya Air began operations in 2003 and has never had a fatal plane crash.
This story is still developing.
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Randy
Saturday 23rd of January 2021
The search for clues and bodies have ended. It may be that the aircraft suffered a throttle problem before the fatal crash in the shallow Java sea. The aircraft may have a good safety track record except it was a 26 year old plane. It was grounded in the past few months due to the early stages of the pandemic nationwide and worldwide. It passed the safety check before it took off again.
Business and leisure travelers know that there is not a specific display of “Jakarta International Airport” on any facade of the airport terminals 1,2 and 3. The correct name is Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Banten province, Tangerang, Indonesia. Some 14 miles on the outskirts of the special territory of the Capital Jakarta.
Elisabeth
Sunday 10th of January 2021
Me too... I'm so sorry for the families that lost their loved ones :-(. I've been in Indonesia twice but I'm not sure I'd fly there (from Europe) again.
Vinny the Adventurer
Saturday 9th of January 2021
Man, I hate hearing about these. 10,000 feet in a minute. That’s almost 170 feet a second. I’ve flown probably 100s of times, but I’m always on edge during takeoff.