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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Naaman Zhou

Lion Air crash: officials say 189 onboard lost flight JT610 – as it happened

Summary

With that, we are closing the live updates for today. It has been eight hours since Lion Air flight JT610 is estimated to have crashed.

Here’s what we know so far:

  • Lion Air flight JT610 crashed, 13 minutes after takeoff, in the sea off Jakarta at roughly 6.30am local time.
  • 189 people were on board, including passengers and crew. 20 of the passengers were Indonesian officials, according to the finance department.
  • The low-cost carrier’s flight was travelling from Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang in Indonesia.
  • There has been no indication of casualties, and a search and rescue operation is still underway.
  • The plane was a new model – a Boeing 737 MAX 8 – and had only been in use for 2 months. The pilot requested a return to the airport shortly before the crash.
  • Lion Air’s CEO said the same plane reported a “technical issue” on Sunday night, but had been cleared to fly on Monday. He said he would not ground the other MAX 8 planes in Lion Air’s fleet.
  • The emergency beacon did not emit a distress call, despite it being certified to work until August 2019.
  • Rescuers have released footage of plane debris and personal items floating in the water at the crash site. They have found handbags, clothing, cellphones, ID cards and drivers licenses.
  • Indonesian officials say they will not speculate on the cause of the crash until the black box is found.

Updated

I have just spoken with Kapish Gandhi, a cousin of the pilot Bhavye Suneja.

He says Suneja’s parents learned of the disaster this morning and are booked to fly to Jakarta tonight. Suneja lived in Jakarta with his wife – they were married two years ago – but the rest of the family is from Delhi.

“He loved his job, he was very much interested in it,” Gandhi said.

The family is devastated by the news and are gathering in Delhi today. “We saw it on the television this morning and didn’t know whether to believe it,” Gandhi said. “We are all speechless.”

Additional reporting by Kakoli Bhattacharya

Indonesian president Joko Widodo has expressed his condolences to the families of victims in a televised address. He says the government is focused on the search and rescue operation currently underway.

Lion Air have released the names of the flight’s captain, co-pilot and full crew.

The captain was Bhavye Suneja, a resident of Jakarta originally from New Delhi. His Linkedin profile said he worked at Lion Air since March 2011, and the airline said he had 6,000 flight hours. He was also a trainee pilot with Emirates from September and December 2010.

The co-pilot Harvino had more than 5,000 flight hours.

The cabin crew were Shintia Melina, Citra Noivita Anggelia, Alviani Hidayatul Solikha, Damayanti Simarmata, Mery Yulianda, and Deny Maula.

Lion Air have also turned their website and social media accounts to black-and-white.

Further details said the aircraft had registration number PK-LQP, it was made in 2018 and started its operation at Lion Air on 15 August 2018.

Updated

Some more on those comments from Lion Air’s CEO that the plane that crashed today suffered “a technical issue” on Sunday.

Edward Sirait told reporters the plane was cleared to fly “according to procedure” but did not specify what the “technical issue” was.

“This plane previously flew from Denpasar to Jakarta,” he said. “There was a report of a technical issue which had been resolved according to procedure.”

Sirait said Lion had 11 aircraft of the same model – the new Boeing 737 MAX 8 – and none had suffered the same problem.

He said Lion had no plans to ground the rest of its MAX 8 fleet.

Updated

Indonesia’s Search And Rescue Agency has released an official statement which says the reason for the crash is still unclear.

It also confirms that the emergency beacon did not emit a distress signal, despite being certified as working until August 2019.

“The cause of the crash of the 737 Lion Air Boeing plane on the Jakarta-Pangkal Pinang route is still a big question,” it says.

“The Emergency Local Transmitter beacon on the plane did not emit a distress signal. Thus, the crash of the plane was not monitored by the Medium Earth Orbital Local User Terminal at the Basarnas [Search and Rescue] head office.

“The aircraft beacon has been registered and declared good until August 2019. The crash location is around the coordinates 05.46.15 S - 107.07.16 E. 34 nautical miles from the Jakarta SAR office.”

The release repeats comments earlier that investigators will not speculate on the cause of the crash until they recover the black box.

You can read the full statement here.

Updated

Australian government officials have been formally instructed not to fly on Lion Air, according to an email sent today.

The advice sent by Smartraveller – a service of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade – applies to all Australian government contractors as well.

“Following the fatal crash of a Lion Air plane on 29 October 2018, Australian government officials and contractors have been instructed not to fly on Lion Air. This decision will be reviewed when the findings of the crash investigation are clear”.

The airplane model of the Lion Air flight which crashed today had only been in service globally for 18 months and boasted of being the “world’s most reliable airplane”.

The 737 MAX 8 model was first operated for a commercial flight in May 2017 by Malindo Air but has since been adopted by airlines around the world

The plane is a variant of the Boeing 737 Max series, which is the fastest selling airplane in Boeing history. Worth upwards of £70m apiece, the Max 8 version has an air range of 6,570 km, a passenger capacity of up to 210 passengers and boasted of reducing carbon emissions by 20%, as well as reducing cabin noise by 40%.

The planes are built at Boeing’s factory in Renton, Washington in the US.

It is a popular model which has been purchased by airlines across the world, including American Airlines, United Airlines, Ryanair, Jet Airlines, FlyDubai, Norwegian Air, Iceland Air, SilkAir, Turkish Airlines, Korean Air, Air Canada and Malaysia Airlines among many others.

Back in 2012, Lion Air were among the first to finalise a a $22.4bn order with Boeing which included 201 of the 737 MAX airplanes. But as of April this year, only eight of the planes had been delivered to Lion Air.

According to company reports, the Boeing 737 MAX had received 4,783 firm orders from over 100 countries as of September.

The crash in Indonesia is the first incident involving the 737 Max model. In a statement released after the Indonesia crash, Boeing said the company “stands ready to provide technical assistance to the accident investigation.”

Ambulances are waiting on the coast of Karawang, but officials still have no information on casualties, according to an update from Reuters.

Rescue teams are still diving and are now assisted by helicopters, said Muhmmad Syaugi, the head of the search and rescue agency.

Officials also confirmed that no distress signal had been received from the aircraft’s emergency transmitter.

Lion Air’s CEO, Edward Sirait, has revealed that the plane had reported a technical problem on Sunday night.

The jet was flying from Denpasar to Jakarta, Sirait said, when pilots reported a problem with the plane. But he said the plane was cleared by engineers and deemed airworthy when it took off on Monday morning.

Updated

The governor of West Java, Ridwan Kamil, has also offered his sympathies to families and hopes the search and rescue process goes smoothly.

Updated

What we know so far

  • Lion Air flight JT610 crashed, 13 minutes after takeoff, in the sea off Jakarta at roughly 6.30am local time.
  • 189 people were on board, including passengers and crew. 20 of the passengers were Indonesian officials, according to the finance department.
  • The low-cost carrier’s flight was travelling from Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang in Indonesia.
  • Rescuers have released footage of plane debris and personal items floating in the water at the crash site. They have found handbags, clothing, cellphones, ID cards and drivers licenses.
  • There has been no indication of casualties, or cause of the crash.
  • The plane was a new model – a Boeing 737 MAX 8 – and had only been in use for 2 months. The pilot requested a return to the airport shortly before the crash.
  • Waters at the site are 30-35 metres deep, and flight data showed it made a sudden, sharp dive into the sea.

Updated

The relative of a passenger has given an emotional interview to Associated Press at Pangkal Pingang airport.

Feni, who uses a single name, told reporters her sister was on the flight.

“We are here to find any information about my younger sister, her fiance, her in-law to be and a friend of them,” she said. “We don’t have any information. No one provided us with any information that we need. We’re confused. We hope that our family is still alive.”

The governor of Jakarta, Anies Baswedan, has offered his condolences. “Our prayers for the victims and their families,” he said.

Australia’s ambassador to Indonesia says he is “making enquiries to determine if any Australians are affected”.

No information about those on board has been released, apart from the fact that 3 were children and 20 were Indonesian officials.

The officials were in Jakarta for a finance ministry event, and some were there to spend time with families, said the finance minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati.

We reported earlier that flight JT610 requested a return to the airport shortly before it crashed.

Indonesia have now confirmed that air control approved the return.

“The (traffic) control allowed that, but then it lost contact,” Yohanes Sirait, a spokesman for the country’s air navigation authorities, told Reuters.

Meanwhile, divers from a special rescue team continue their efforts.

Plane debris believed to be from Lion Air flight JT610, recovered from the crash site in the Java sea.
Plane debris believed to be from Lion Air flight JT610, recovered from the crash site in the Java sea. Photograph: SUTOPO_PN/ Twitter
Plane debris believed to be from Lion Air flight JT610, recovered from the crash site in the Java sea.
Plane debris believed to be from Lion Air flight JT610, recovered from the crash site in the Java sea. Photograph: SUTOPO_PN/ Twitter
Plane debris believed to be from Lion Air flight JT610, recovered from the crash site in the Java sea.
Plane debris believed to be from Lion Air flight JT610, recovered from the crash site in the Java sea. Photograph: SUTOPO_PN/ Twitter

Boeing have released a statement:

The Indonesia Ministry of Transportation has confirmed it has located the wreckage of Lion Air Flight JT 610.

The Boeing Company is deeply saddened by the loss of Flight JT 610. We express our concern for those on board, and extend heartfelt sympathies to their families and loved ones.

Boeing stands ready to provide technical assistance to the accident investigation. In accordance with international protocol, all inquiries about aviation accident investigations must be directed to the Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC).

More footage of debris here. Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesman for the disaster relief agency, says rescuers have spotted cellphones and buoys in the water.

Updated

Diving missions are underway at the following coordinates.

The number of people on board has been updated to 189, according to officials.

The new number consists of:

  • 178 adult passengers
  • 1 child
  • 2 babies
  • 2 pilots and 6 flight attendants (previously 5)

Updated

Here’s our correspondent Kate Lamb in Jakarta with the latest:

It is unclear why Lion Air’s JT610 flight crashed into the waters off West Java shortly after takeoff this morning, but authorities have confirmed the aircraft had been newly purchased, and operational for less than three months.

Soerjanto Tjahjono, chairman of the National Transportation Safety Committee, told a press conference in Jakarta the plane that crashed was received by the budget airline this August.

Before losing contact with air traffic control less than 15 minutes after takeoff, the pilot reportedly requested to return to Soekarno Hatta airport on the outskirts of the capital, Jakarta.

As search and rescue teams scour the location and continue to find bits of debris – photos have emerged showing what appears to be part of the plane exterior, and personal belongings such as shattered mobile phones – distraught family members have started to gather at the airport in Pangkal Pinang, on Bangka island, where the plane was scheduled to land.

Monday’s tragedy comes just weeks after Indonesia was struck by a devastating earthquake and tsunami in Palu, central Sulawesi, that claimed the lives of more than 2,000 people.

Updated

Search and rescue have also confirmed this image of debris is from the crash site.

Indonesia’s search and rescue agency have made their first official tweets on the incident.

They took a team of 46 people to the crash site, and have discovered ID cards and drivers licenses they believe belong to passengers.

An Indonesian official says no cause can be determined until they retrieve the black box, Reuters report.

Soerjanto Tjahjon, an official at the safety transport committee, said Indonesia would need to recover the black box, cockpit voice recorder and data flight recorder.

“We will collect all data from the control tower. The plane is so modern, it transmits data from the plane and that we will review too. But the most important is the black box.”

The pilot and co-pilot of the plane had a combined total of 11,000 hours flying time, Lion Air has told Reuters.

A Lion Air aircraft, photographed 21 November 2014.
A Lion Air aircraft, photographed 21 November 2014. Photograph: Bagus Indahono/EPA

Flightradar has urged caution about speculating on the cause of the crash.

Agency AFP have filed this report on the state of Indonesia’s aviation safety standards:

Indonesia relies heavily on air transport to connect its thousands of islands but has a poor aviation safety record and has suffered several fatal crashes in recent years.

In August 2015, a commercial passenger aircraft operated by Indonesian carrier Trigana crashed in Papua due to bad weather, killing all 54 people on board.

Lion Air, a low-cost airline, has been involved a number of incidents.

Last year one of its Boeing jets collided with a Wings Air plane at Kualanamu airport on the island of Sumatra, although no one was injured.

In May 2016, two Lion Air planes collided at Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta airport, while a month earlier a plane operated by Batik Air – part of the Lion Group – clipped a TransNusa plane.

In 2013 a Lion Air jet with a rookie pilot at the controls undershot the runway and crashed into the sea in Bali, splitting the plane in two. Several people were injured in the crash, although no one was killed.

Last year the Indonesian air traffic controllers association revealed that the rate of take-off and landings in Jakarta allowed by state-run air navigation company AirNav was more than the airport could handle, increasing the chance of accidents.

Here is some information on the crisis centres and information lines for those affected:

Here’s the latest from Flightradar indicating “a high rate of descent”

Indonesian TV has also broadcast footage of anxious people waiting outside Pangkal Pinang airport – the plane’s intended destination.

Relatives of passengers wait at Depati Amir Airport in Pangkal Pinang.
Relatives of passengers wait at Depati Amir Airport in Pangkal Pinang. Photograph: AP

Today’s crash is potentially Indonesia’s worst airline disaster since Indonesia AirAsia Flight QZ8501, which crashed in December 2014, killing all 162 on board.

Updated

The chief executive of Lion Air, Edward Sirait, has refrained from commenting so far.

He told Reuters earlier today “we are trying to collect all the information and data” before speaking.

He said the company would hold a press conference later today.

Lion Air is a fast-growing, low-cost carrier, and today’s crash is the first accident reported to involve the Boeing 737 MAX 8.

20 Indonesian officials on board

Indonesia’s finance ministry says 20 officials were on board the Lion Air flight when it crashed.

Spokesman Nufransa Wira Sakti confirmed the number, as reported by Bloomberg.

The waters where JT610 has crashed are roughly 30-35 metres deep, according to the head of Indonesia’s search and rescue agency.

The plane crashed into Karawang Bay, two nautical miles from where the plane lost contact with aircraft control, said Muhammed Syaugi.

“On the sea surface we found debris,” he said.

Singapore’s Straits Times are also reporting that the plane had requested a return to base before it lost contact.

Debris and aircraft seats – thought to be from flight JT610 – have been found near an offshore refining facility near the crash, according to the state energy firm Pertamina, and reported by Reuters.

Updated

Boeing have confirmed they are aware of the crash.

The model – a Boeing 737 MAX 8 – was a newly launched replacement for the commonly-used 737, and was first introduced globally in 2017.

The Lion Air plane that crashed today had only been delivered to the airline two months ago in August.

Preliminary data from Flightradar24 shows the plane went through a sharp drive towards the sea, according to Reuters.

“The aircraft climbed to around 5,000 feet (1,524 m) before losing, and then regaining, height, before finally falling towards the sea. It was last recorded at 3,650 feet (1,113 m) and its speed had risen to 345 knots,” the agency reported.

Muhmmad Syaugi, the head of the search and rescue agency said: “We don’t know yet whether there are any survivors. We hope, we pray, but we cannot confirm.”

188 people were on board

It is now confirmed by Indonesian authorities that there were 188 people on board, including crew.

That number is made up of:

  • 178 adult passengers
  • 1 child
  • 2 babies
  • 2 pilots and 5 flight attendants

Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, the spokesman for Indonesia’s disaster relief agency, tweeted this information earlier. It clarifies initial reports of 178 people – this was the number of adult passengers, not including crew and children.

Lion Air officials at Depati Amir airport in Pangkal Pinang check the passenger list of flight JT610.
Lion Air officials at Depati Amir airport in Pangkal Pinang check the passenger list of flight JT610. Photograph: Antara Foto/Reuters

Updated

The head of information for Indonesia’s disaster relief agency has uploaded footage of debris and a tugboat operation currently underway.

His second tweet says the plane was carrying 178 passengers, but later reports from Reuters have said the number is 188.

Hello and welcome to our live blog of the Lion Air crash

What we know so far:

  • Flight JT610 crashed in the sea off Indonesia today at 6.30am local time
  • It was travelling from Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang in Indonesia
  • The plane was carrying 188 people, according to Reuters
  • Indonesia is mounting a search and rescue operation and there is currently no indication of the number of casualties
  • It was Boeing 737 MAX 8 – introduced in 2017 – which can carry up to 200 people.
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