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A Boeing 737 MAX 8 of Indonesian carrier Lion Air has reportedly crashed into the waters of the Java Sea after the airline confirmed that it has lost contact with the aircraft.
The flight JT-610 was operating from Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang. The aircraft was PK-LQP a two month old Boeing 737 MAX 8 having been delivered to the airline in August of this year. Like all 737 MAX’s it was powered by two CFM International LEAP-1B engines.
Flight JT-610 took off from Jakarta at 06:20 local time. It was to operate an one hour flight to Depati Amir airport in Pangkal Pinang. However at around 12 minutes into the flight authorities lost contact with the plane.
Lion Air group was the launch customer of the 737 MAX program with it’s subsidiary Malindo operating the first 737 MAX. The group was also the launch customer for the 737 MAX 9.
FlightRadar is reporting that “preliminary data show an increase in speed and decrease in altitude at last transmission.”
We're following reports that contact has been lost with Lion Air flight #JT610 shortly after takeoff from Jakarta.
ADS-B data from the flight is available at https://t.co/zNM33cM0na pic.twitter.com/NIU7iuCcFu
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) October 29, 2018
Updates
Indonesian authorities have said that there were a 180 passengers and 7 crew on board the flight. However there are some conflicting reports on the number of people on board the aircraft.
The head of Indonesia’s disaster agency, Sutopo Purwo Nugroho has tweeted images and a video from the crash site.
Jatuhnya pesawat Lion Air JT 610 di dekat fasilitas Anak usaha PT Pertamina (Persero), Pertamina Hulu Energi Offshore North West Java (PHE ONWJ) di lepas pantai di utara Bekasi, Jawa Barat. Petugas PHE ONWJ melakukan evakuasi dan mengambil dokumentasi. pic.twitter.com/Xq0kQjAWe8
— Sutopo Purwo Nugroho (@Sutopo_PN) October 29, 2018
Serpihan pesawat Lion Air JT 610 yang jatuh di perairan Karawang. Beberapa kapal tug boad membantu menangani evakuasi. Video diambil petugas tug boad yang ada di perairan Karawang. pic.twitter.com/4GhKcRYkpG
— Sutopo Purwo Nugroho (@Sutopo_PN) October 29, 2018
Divers and rescue teams have reached the site and have begun search operations.
On the morning of 20th October 2018, Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency BASARNAS reported that there were 181 passengers and eight crew on board the aircraft. S&R teams have begun recovering bodies, aircraft debris and passengers belongings. The main wreckage however has not yet been located. A remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and lighting has been dispatched to the scene to facilitate 24 hour search operations.
