A Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737-500 is missing in Indonesia with witnesses reporting a fiery explosion just minutes after takeoff.
Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737-500 Missing In Indonesia After Crash
Sriwijaya Air SJ182 was scheduled to fly from Jakarta (CGK) to Pontianak (PNK) today, a flight of less than 500 miles. 56 passengers and six crew members on board. The 737-500 utilized for the flight had the registration code PK-CLC and was formerly part of the United Airlines fleet.
The flight took off at 2:36pm local time, climbed to 10,000 feet, then lost contact at 2:40pm. Flightradar24.com, which tracks flights worldwide, noted that the aircraft descended over 10,000 feet in less than a minute.
Video reportedly shows debris from Sriwijaya Air flight SJ182 after disappearing from radar on take off from Jakarta airport. Number of passengers and crew on board is currently unknown. https://t.co/LeQlvgiUHy pic.twitter.com/BhHSdFIsbz
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@breakingavnews) January 9, 2021
Per BBC, debris has been found and there are witnesses:
Fisherman Solihin, who goes by one name, told the BBC Indonesian service he had witnessed a crash and his captain decided to return to land.
“The plane fell like lightning into the sea and exploded in the water,” he said.
“It was pretty close to us, the shards of a kind of plywood almost hit my ship.”
A number of residents of an island near where the plane disappeared told the BBC they had found objects they thought were from the plane.
I asked 121pilot, our resident pilot on Live and Let’s Fly, what might have happened and he told me, “Reports are that it descended over 10,000 feet in under a minute before contact was lost. That speaks to me of some sort of catastrophic failure because even if I was desperate I doubt I could get a plane to descend at over 10,000 feet per minute.” He underscored that information is still emerging and it is too early to make any definitive judgments.
CONCLUSION
This is just horrible news. From thousands of miles away, I send my love for the families who now sit nervously waiting for news on their loved ones.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated. Check back for updates.
image: PK-REN
Couldn’t pay me enough to take an LCC flight in Indonesia during rainy season… Such an amazing country and such a tragedy
It ain’t the MAX for all you sensationalists. Just another crash.
Investigation is still underway, why would you wrote something antagonising the pilot? Do you really hate civil pilot that much? There’s big probability this is not manufacturing or design at fault like MAX8.
At least be elegant in shifting blame, like FAA did by stating that it has issued warning for planes parked unused during pandemic….
Not to do with this crash but Indonesia is difficult: inadequate aviation infrastructure, severe weather and ageing fleets have long been a problem; then came the shyster entrepreneurs looking for a fast buck or the perceived status associated with airline ownership, but rarely prepared to invest in world class safety and maintenance…
Low risk, as predominantly religious people shall take it as “destiny from God” rather than the liability of airline, aircraft manufacturer, or authorities….
I just flew a 28 minute flight that only reached 14K total, from one of my local airports (SPS) to DFW, and back. 28 minutes. To fathom ONE MINUTE and 10,000 feet just made me feel almost physically ill. My word, I cannot imagine!