Heavy
A Boeing 737-500 crashed into the sea in Indonesia with 62 people aboard shortly after takeoff. The Sriwijaya Air plane was on a domestic flight which took off from Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta on Saturday, January 9.
The Boeing 737-500 was en route to Pontianak in West Kalimantan and disappeared from radar screens after taking off just after 2.30 p.m. local time. The flight was delayed for 30 minutes due to heavy rain, Reuters reported. Read on to see data on the aircraft and the crash.
MSN reported the plane crashed into the Java Sea, and some debris has been recovered.
Here’s what you need to know:
Sriwijaya Air Flight SJ 182 Dropped 10,000 Feet in Less Than a Minute, 4 Minutes After Takeoff
Sriwijaya Air flight #SJ182 lost more than 10.000 feet of altitude in less than one minute, about 4 minutes after departure from Jakarta.
The plane rapidly lost altitude after takeoff, according to a tweet from FlightRadar 24, which posts global air traffic information.
“Sriwijaya Air flight #SJ182 lost more than 10.000 feet of altitude in less than one minute, about 4 minutes after departure from Jakarta,” the tweet said.
Flight data indicates the plane has flown every day since at least January 3, and had flights scheduled daily through at least January 17.
Here is the aircraft’s schedule and recent flight history:
FlightRadar24Sriwijaya Air flight SJ182 schedule and flight history.
Here is the plane’s flight path:
FlightRadar24Sriwijaya Air flight SJ182 flight path
You can watch an animation of the flight and crash here. It took off from Jarkata Soekarno Hatta International Airport at 2:36 p.m. local time and was scheduled to arrive at Pontianak Supadio Airport at 3:15 p.m.
Every Person Aboard the Plane Was Indonesian & a Team Was Sent to Search for Remains of Victims
Families of Indonesia plane crash victims await news of beloved ones t.co/ARhPtiPJZJ
Indonesian Transport Minister Budi Karya said in a news conference that 62 people were aboard Flight SJ 182, which including 12 crew members, according to Reuters. He said the plane crashed near Laki Island, which is about 12 miles from the airport.
The rescue agency, Basarnas, said in a statement it would send a team to the Thousand Islands area to help in the search for victims, Reuters reported. Indonesia’s transport safety committee said everyone on board was Indonesian.
The country’s Navy pinpointed the site of the missing aircraft and its ships were sent to the location, a Navy official told Reuters. Indonesian airline Sriwijaya Air’s chief executive, Jefferson Irwin Jauwena, said in the news conference the plane had been in good condition before the flight.
The Boeing 737-500 is a nearly 27-year-old model which predates the “problem-plagued” 737 MAX model, Reuters reported. A 737 MAX crashed near Jakarta in late 2018. All 189 people aboard the Lion Air flight were killed. Older 737 models are widely flown and do not have the system implicated in the MAX safety crisis, according to the news outlet. Both planes took off from the same airport.
MSN reported the flight included 40 adult passengers, seven children and three babies. Eleven Navy ships were deployed to recover remains and locate black boxes containing flight information. Some debris was located, and teams were working to determine the exact coordinates where the plane crashed.
READ NEXT: Shirtless, Horned-Hat Man Who Became a Face of the Capitol Siege Is Arrested