A brand new Indonesian Lion Air plane carrying 189 passengers and crew crashed into the sea Monday, officials said, as the carrier acknowledged that the jet had previously been grounded for repairs.
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| Debris apparently from the crashed jet was pulled out of the water (National Disaster Mitigation Agency/AFP / Handout) |
A brand new Indonesian Lion Air plane carrying 189 passengers and crew crashed into the sea Monday, officials said, as the carrier acknowledged that the jet had previously been grounded for repairs.
The Boeing-737 MAX, which went into service just months ago, vanished from radar 13 minutes after taking off from Jakarta, plunging into the Java Sea moments after it had asked to be allowed to return to the Indonesian capital.
Websites that display flight data showed the plane speeding up as it suddenly lost altitude in the minutes before it disappeared.
Video footage apparently filmed at the scene of the crash showed a slick of fuel on the surface of the water.
Pictures also emerged of debris, including what appeared to be an emergency slide, and bits of wreckage bearing Lion Air's logo.
The plane had been en route to Pangkal Pinang city, a jumping off point for beach-and-sun seeking tourists on nearby Belitung island, when it dropped out of contact around 6.30 am (2330 GMT).
It was not yet known if there were any foreigners on board.
A search and rescue operation swung into gear, with organisers saying the plane was in water about 30 to 40 metres deep.
Images filmed at Pangkal Pinang's main airport showed families of passengers crying and hugging each other, with some yelling "Oh god". Read More...
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