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A Boeing 737 that took off from Jakarta, Indonesia seems to have disappeared. According to Indonesia’s aviation authorities, shortly after takeoff the Sriwijaya Air Flight — with 62 people aboard — lost contact on Jan. 9, 2020.
The 26-year-old Boeing 737-500 was scheduled to depart from Jakarta — Indonesia’s capital — and head to Potianak at 1:40 p.m. local time. Pontianak is on the island of Borneo.
According to FlightRadar24 data — which the plane was tracked — shortly after the Boeing left the tarmac it plunged from 10,900 feet in the air to 250 feet. Then the Boeing just disappeared off the radar.
In recent years the airplane was grounded for 20 months — after two fatal crashes. The fatal crashes include the Lion Air catastrophe in 2018 which killed 189 people.
According to the Indonesian authorities, they have sent a search craft from the point of takeoff to the last known location — just above the Java sea. Authorities have also sent first responders to the location in case there are any survivors.
Joining the investigation into the missing Boeing 737 is the National Transportation Safety Commission. The Jakarta Post was the first to report the incident. The whole flight should have only taken roughly 90 minutes.
According to the Seattle Times, the aircraft had 56 passengers aboard. There were seven children and three infants included in the manifest. The Boeing also held four cabin crew and two pilots.
Zoe Leong, a spokeswoman for Boeing, stated “We are aware of media reports from Jakarta, and are closely monitoring the situation.” She further said that further information is being gathered. Sriwijaya air stated that they were working on obtaining further details. As soon as they know something they will release that information.
A spokeswoman for the transport ministry, Adita Irawati, stated the Boeing was last contacted at 2:40 p.m. local time. According to the local news channel MetroTV, some fishermen — in the Thousand Islands regency — discovered debris and oil in the water.
There have been some reports that a plane crashed on Laki Island. Laki Island is reportedly uninhabited. Authorities are still investigating the plane’s disappearance.
Written by Sheena Robertson
Sources:
Seattle Times: Indonesia’s Sriwijaya Air loses contact with plane after take-off
The Jakarta Post: Older Boeing 737 with 62 aboard missing after takeoff from Jakarta
Featured Image Courtesy formulanone’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inline Image Courtesy of yuki_alm_misa’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License