Flight Accident

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo said that he prayed for the passengers of the Lion Air plane that went missing on Monday morning en route from Jakarta to Pangkalpinang in Bangka Belitung would be found immediately.

Jokowi said he had ordered National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) head M. Syaugi to carry out immediate search and rescue operations, with the help of military and police personnel.

"We are trying our best to locate and rescue the victims. I keep praying for the victims to be found immediately," Jokowi said on Monday in Nusa Dua, Bali.

"I can feel the anxiety of the families of victims. But we hope the families can wait patiently," he added.

Lion Air flight JT610, which reportedly carried two pilots, six crew members and 181 passengers, lost contact with air traffic controllers at 6:33 a.m., about 13 minutes after it had taken off from Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

The plane reportedly crashed 7 nautical miles north of the coast of Tanjung Bungin in Karawang, West Java.

Basarnas earlier said that the plane had crashed into the sea after a team located the debris about 2 nautical miles (3.7 kilometers) south of where contact with the plane was lost.

The deputy of the Basarnas operation, Nugroho Budi Wiryanto, said that  by 12:30 p.m. its personnel had yet to locate any victims from the plane crash.

Among the passengers were officials from various ministries, including the Finance Ministry. Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati appeared devastated when she visited the National Search and Rescue Agency’s (Basarnas) office in Jakarta

At least 20 government officials were on board the flight, including staffers of the State Assets and Auction Services (KPKNL) and the State Treasury Services Office (KPPN).

Sri Mulyani said the 20 employees on board the flight were returning to their office in Pangkalpinang after either spending time with their families or attending the 72nd anniversary of Currency Day in Jakarta over the weekend.

"I am very concerned with the fate of [Finance Ministry] team," Sri Mulyani said.

There were also one official from the Environment and Forestry Ministry and four from the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry on the plane. Reports also say officials from the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) and the Bangka-Belitung legislative Council were also on board. (evi)

Lion Air JT610: 'We're hoping for a miracle,' says Basarnas deputy

The National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) is hoping for "a miracle" as search and rescue (SAR) personnel attempt to locate passengers and crew of Lion Air flight JT610, which went missing on Monday morning en route from Jakarta to Pangkalpinang in Bangka Belitung Islands regency.

The deputy of the Basarnas operation, Nugroho Budi Wiryanto, said that its personnel had yet to discover any bodies from the plane crash by 12:30 p.m. "We're hoping for a miracle from God," he said.

SAR efforts had recovered various types of documents, including ID cards, passports and driver's licenses. Authorities had yet to locate the main body of the Boeing 737 MAX B aircraft, but they had found debris from the plane, said Nugroho.

"We have gone all out in deploying the equipment we have [for the SAR operation]," Nugroho said on Monday. "We haven't yet located the black box [...] our findings are not yet significant."

Air traffic control (ATC) at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport lost contact with Lion Air flight JT610 on Monday at 6:33 a.m., approximately 13 minutes after takeoff. 

Authorities later announced that the plane crashed into the sea 7 nautical miles (12.96 kilometers) north off the coast of Tanjung Bungin in Karawang, West Java.

Basarnas has deployed 150 personnel, including a team of 30 divers, while the Indonesian Military (TNI) and the National Police also deployed 150 personnel, said Nugroho.

The 300-man joint SAR team was also assisted by fishermen at sea, he added, and that it would increase the number of personnel to speed up the operation.

The aircraft carried 189 people: 181 passengers, including three minors, plus two pilots and six crew members. Among the passengers were dozens of officials from the Finance Ministry, the Supreme Audit Agency (BPK), as well as the environment and energy ministries.

Separately, state-owned insurance company Jasa Raharja has assured that all passengers aboard Lion Air flight JT610 or their next of kin would be compensated in accordance with existing laws and the 2017 Finance Ministry regulation.

"Jasa Raharja is ready to provide Rp 50 million in compensation for dead victims, and Jasa Raharja will cover up to Rp 25 million in hospital costs for injured victims," Budi Rahardjo, the company's director, said in a statement. (evi)

A downed Lion Air plane that took off from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta for Pangkalpinang in Bangka Belitung was carrying 181 passengers, including three minors, a spokesperson at the Transportation Ministry said on Monday.

There were two pilots and six flight attendants on the plane, the National Transportation Safety Commission said in a separate statement on Monday. The total number of people on the plane was 189, according to the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas).

The directorate general is coordinating with relevant authorities to conduct search and rescue operations, she said.

"The directorate general is coordinating with National Search and Rescue Agency, Lion Air as the operator, the Sea Transportation Directorate General and the Indonesian Flight Navigation Service Institution (LPPNPI) in search and rescue activities for the JT 610 plane," Sindu Rahayu of the Air Transportation Directorate General said in a statement on Monday morning.

A vessel traffic service officer at Tanjung Priok Port in North Jakarta, Suyadi, told The Jakarta Post that a tugboat crew reported to him that they saw the debris of the plane 7 nautical miles (12.96 kilometers) north of Tanjung Bungin, Karawang, West Java.

Flightradar24, a Swedish internet-based service that shows real-time commercial aircraft flight information on a map, tweeted on Monday morning Jakarta time that the plane was "brand new" and Lion Air received it only in August this year.

The plane was scheduled to land at Depati Amir Airport in Pangkalpinang at 7:10 a.m. Jakarta time

Authorities have begun search and rescue (SAR) operations for the passengers and crew of Lion Air flight JT610, which went missing on Monday morning en route from Jakarta to Pangkalpinang in Bangka Belitung.

The Lion Air flight lost contact with air traffic controllers at 6:33 a.m., shortly after it took off at 6:20 a.m.from Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

The plane, which reportedly carried two pilots, six crew members and 181 passengers, including three minors, reportedly crashed 7 nautical miles (12.96 kilometers) north off the coast of Tanjung Bungin in Karawang, West Java.

"We are certain that the plane crashed into the sea and is submerged at a depth of 30 to 35 meters," National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) head M. Syaugi told a press conference on Monday.

"We have located the debris about 2 nautical miles [3.7 kilometers] south of where contact with the plane was lost," he said.

Syaugi said that 130 Basarnas personnel had been deployed from Jakarta and West Java's Bandung and Cirebon, as well as other areas. Thirty Basarnas Special Group (BSG) personnel had also been deployed to the debris site.

Bandung SAR spokesperson Joshua Banjarnahor said that a team comprising SAR members and divers from Bandung and Cirebon had been deployed on Rescue Boat 2016.

"Ninety personnel have been prepared to assist in the rescue efforts," Joshua said. "Rescue Boat 2016 has set sail."

National Transportation Safety Commission (KNKT) head Soerjanto Tjahjono said that the Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft that flew under flight number JT610  commenced operations under Lion Air in August and had a total 800 flight hours.

Soerjanto said the Basarnas team was looking for the black box to determine the cause of the crash.

The Basarnas also sent an underwater remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to search for passengers and crew.

Recent photographs from Basarnas show that the team had recovered parts of the plane and several ID cards, presumably belonging to the plane's passengers. 

Government officials are reportedly among the passengers aboard the missing aircraft.

Finance Ministry spokesperson Nufransa Wira Sakti confirmed that 20 ministry officials, including staffers of the State Assets and Auction Services (KPKNL) and the State Treasury Services Office (KPPN), were among the 178 adult passengers on the aircraft.

"We are still confirming data on the names against the flight manifest," Nufransa said on Monday. (evi)

An Indonesian Lion Air plane that crashed into the sea shortly after taking off from Jakarta on Monday had a technical problem on a previous flight, but it had been resolved according to procedure, the company's chief executive said.

"This plane previously flew from Denpasar to Cengkareng (Jakarta). There was a report of a technical issue which had been resolved according to procedure," Edward Sirait told reporters, declining to specify the nature of the technical issue.

He said Lion has operated 11 aircraft of the same model, the Boeing 737 Max 8, and the other planes did not have the same technical problem. Sirait said there was no plan to ground the rest of its Boeing 737 Max 8 fleet.