Jakarta: Sriwijaya Air Flight 182 with 62 aboard is feared to have crashed into the sea after the Boeing 737 lost contact with aviation authorities shortly after taking off from Indonesia’s capital Jakarta on Saturday, reported AFP.
The flight tracking data showed the jet had plunged into a steep dive just four minutes after take-off. The search agency has picked up some debris and is trying to confirm if it belongs to the Sriwijaya Air Flight SJ182, the organization’s deputy for operations, Bambang Suryo Aji, said, according to Bloomberg.
The authorities have started search and rescue operations for the missing plane with the National Search and Rescue Agency and the National Transportation Safety Committee, according to ministry spokesman.
The government have sent a search vessel from Jakarta to plane’s last known location in the Java Sea. First responders were also deployed to the site to aid potential survivors, local TV reported.
No radio beacon signal had been detected, Bagus Puruhito, head of the country’s search and rescue agency Basarnas.
“A Sriwijaya (Air) plane from Jakarta to Pontianak (on Borneo island) with call sign SJY182 has lost contact,” said ministry spokesman Adita Irawati. “The Boeing 737-500 took off from Jakarta at about 1:56 p.m. and lost contact with the control tower at 2:40 p.m.,” the ministry added, according to AP.
“Sriwijaya Air flight #SJ182 lost more than 10.000 feet of altitude in less than one minute, about 4 minutes after departure from Jakarta,” Flightradar24 reported.
“ADS-B signal from flight #SJ182 was lost at 07:40:27 UTC time. The flight was en route from Jakarta to Pontianak in Indonesia,” Flightradar24 said.
The 737 first flew in May 1994, according to Flightradar. A Boeing 737 MAX operated by Indonesian airline Lion Air crashed off Jakarta in late 2018, killing all 189 passengers and crew.
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