Indonesian authorities yesterday located the black boxes of the Sriwijaya Air jet that crashed into the sea soon after taking off from the capital Jakarta, as human body parts and suspected pieces of the plane were retrieved. The Boeing 737-500 with 62 passengers and crew was headed to Pontianak in West Kalimantan on Saturday before it disappeared from radar screens four minutes after take-off.
It is the first major air crash in Indonesia since 189 passengers and crew were killed in 2018 when a Lion Air Boeing 737 Max also plunged into the Java Sea soon after take-off from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.
Even before the latest crash, more people had died in air cashes in Indonesia than in any other country in the past decade, according to Aviation Safety Network's database.
Indonesia National Transport Safety Committee chief Soerjanto Tjahjono said the locations of Flight SJ182's two black boxes had been identified.
“Hopefully we can retrieve them soon,” said military chief Hadi Tjahjanto, without giving an estimated time frame.
Pieces of wreckage were brought to Jakarta port by rescuers. Authorities said they came from a depth of 23m near a group of islands off the Jakarta coast.
One twisted piece of metal was painted in Sriwijaya Air's blue and red colours. Indonesian authorities said they had also retrieved body parts and clothing.
Police asked families to provide information such as dental records and DNA samples to help identify bodies.
The plane had 12 crew and 50 passengers on board, all Indonesians and including seven children and three babies.
President Joko Widodo, speaking at the palace in Bogor, expressed “deep condolences” in the disaster and urged the public to pray the missing people could be found.
Tracking service Flightradar24 said the aircraft took off at 2.36pm local time and climbed to reach 10,900 feet within four minutes. It then began a steep descent and stopped transmitting data 21 seconds later.
There were no immediate clues on what caused the jet's sudden descent. Most air accidents are caused by a cocktail of factors that can take months to establish, safety experts say.
A transport ministry spokesperson said air traffic control had asked the pilot why the plane was heading northwest instead of on its expected flight path seconds before it disappeared.
The pilots had decades of experience between them with the flight captain reported to be a former air force pilot and his co-pilot at Sriwijaya Air since 2013, according to his LinkedIn profile.
The Sriwijaya Air plane was a nearly 27-year-old Boeing 737-500, much older than Boeing's problem-plagued 737 Max model. Older 737 models are widely flown and do not have the stall-prevention system implicated in the Max safety crisis.
“We are in contact with our airline customer and stand ready to support them during this difficult time,” Boeing said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with the crew, passengers and their families.”
Distraught relatives waited in Pontianak, about 740km from Jakarta, for news of their loved ones. A crisis centre was set up for families at Jakarta's main airport.
“We feel powerless. We can only wait and hope to get any information soon,” Irfansyah Riyanto, who had five relatives on the flight, told reporters.
Distraught relatives wait on news of Sriwijaya Air's ill-fated flight
Indonesia locates black boxes of crashed jet as body parts recovered
Image: ED WRAY
Indonesian authorities yesterday located the black boxes of the Sriwijaya Air jet that crashed into the sea soon after taking off from the capital Jakarta, as human body parts and suspected pieces of the plane were retrieved. The Boeing 737-500 with 62 passengers and crew was headed to Pontianak in West Kalimantan on Saturday before it disappeared from radar screens four minutes after take-off.
It is the first major air crash in Indonesia since 189 passengers and crew were killed in 2018 when a Lion Air Boeing 737 Max also plunged into the Java Sea soon after take-off from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.
Even before the latest crash, more people had died in air cashes in Indonesia than in any other country in the past decade, according to Aviation Safety Network's database.
Indonesia National Transport Safety Committee chief Soerjanto Tjahjono said the locations of Flight SJ182's two black boxes had been identified.
“Hopefully we can retrieve them soon,” said military chief Hadi Tjahjanto, without giving an estimated time frame.
Pieces of wreckage were brought to Jakarta port by rescuers. Authorities said they came from a depth of 23m near a group of islands off the Jakarta coast.
One twisted piece of metal was painted in Sriwijaya Air's blue and red colours. Indonesian authorities said they had also retrieved body parts and clothing.
Police asked families to provide information such as dental records and DNA samples to help identify bodies.
The plane had 12 crew and 50 passengers on board, all Indonesians and including seven children and three babies.
President Joko Widodo, speaking at the palace in Bogor, expressed “deep condolences” in the disaster and urged the public to pray the missing people could be found.
Tracking service Flightradar24 said the aircraft took off at 2.36pm local time and climbed to reach 10,900 feet within four minutes. It then began a steep descent and stopped transmitting data 21 seconds later.
There were no immediate clues on what caused the jet's sudden descent. Most air accidents are caused by a cocktail of factors that can take months to establish, safety experts say.
A transport ministry spokesperson said air traffic control had asked the pilot why the plane was heading northwest instead of on its expected flight path seconds before it disappeared.
The pilots had decades of experience between them with the flight captain reported to be a former air force pilot and his co-pilot at Sriwijaya Air since 2013, according to his LinkedIn profile.
The Sriwijaya Air plane was a nearly 27-year-old Boeing 737-500, much older than Boeing's problem-plagued 737 Max model. Older 737 models are widely flown and do not have the stall-prevention system implicated in the Max safety crisis.
“We are in contact with our airline customer and stand ready to support them during this difficult time,” Boeing said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with the crew, passengers and their families.”
Distraught relatives waited in Pontianak, about 740km from Jakarta, for news of their loved ones. A crisis centre was set up for families at Jakarta's main airport.
“We feel powerless. We can only wait and hope to get any information soon,” Irfansyah Riyanto, who had five relatives on the flight, told reporters.
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