Indonesian plane crash

A Boeing passenger jet carrying 62 people crashed into the sea minutes after taking off from the Indonesian capital Jakarta at the weekend.

The Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737-500 was en route Saturday from Jakarta to Pontianak city on Borneo island, normally a 90-minute flight, but deviated sharply from its course shortly after take-off and went into a steep dive, according to flight-tracking data and aviation analysts.

Warships, helicopters and divers were deployed in the sea off the mega-city and discovered body parts, wreckage and passenger clothing.

Divers are also looking for the plane’s black boxes — cockpit voice and flight data recorders — after the authorities said on Sunday they have managed to pinpoint their location.

It is not clear what caused Flight SJ182 to go down near a small archipelago off Jakarta, but analysts have cited such factors as bad weather, pilot error and mechanical malfunction.

A fisherman from Lancang Island, part of the archipelago, told CNN’s local affiliate that he heard a noise like an explosion or thunder around the time of the accident. He then saw big waves.

Preliminary data suggested it was “most likely” that the plane was intact when it hit the water, according to a senior Indonesian transport safety agency investigator.

 



The plane was carrying 50 passengers, including 10 children, and 12 crew members.

The captain was Afwan, a 54-year-old veteran aviator who flew for the Indonesian Air Force from 1987 to 1998, according to local media. 

Married with three children, he was known as a devout Muslim and well-respected figure in his local community.

The profile of one of his social media accounts was reported to be a picture of Superman praying alongside the words: “no matter how high you fly, you won’t reach heaven if you don’t pray five times a day”.

Among the passengers were newlyweds Putri Wahyuni and Ihsan Adhlan Hakim, en route to their wedding celebration.

Rapin Akbar spoke to AFP after giving blood for DNA analysis at a hospital where body bags with human remains were being taken.

He said he had five relatives on board, including an older sister, a nephew and his wife and their seven-month-old baby.

Place Your MidPost Ads Code (PC) Here