Indonesia loses contact with Sriwijaya Flight SJ182 after take off from Jakarta
Indonesian media reported that the air control towers lost contact from a Sriwijaya Air plane after taking off from the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, on Saturday, and said that the missing Indonesian plane was on its way to Pontianak, the capital of West Kalimantan Province.
According to the media report, the plane was carrying 56 people and 6 crew members including 5 children and infants, and that it was a Boeing 737-500. A plane flying from Jakarta to Pontianak would spend most of the flight over the Java Sea.
- For its part, the "Sriwijaya Air" company said in a statement it was still collecting more detailed information about the Flight SJ182, before it was able to issue any statement about the accident.
- A number of websites specializing in tracking air traffic around the world confirmed that the plane had disappeared from the radar screens, as it could no longer be seen on the screens.
- Reliable tracking service Flightradar24 said on its Twitter feed that Flight SJ182 “lost more than 10,000 feet of altitude in less than one minute, about 4 minutes after departure from Jakarta.”
- Indonesian Transportation Ministry spokesperson Adita Irawati said in a statement that a search and rescue operation was underway in coordination with the National Search and Rescue Agency and the National Transportation Safety Committee, according to the Associated Press.
Sriwijaya Air flight #SJ182 lost more than 10.000 feet of altitude in less than one minute, about 4 minutes after departure from Jakarta.https://t.co/fNZqlIR2dz pic.twitter.com/MAVfbj73YN
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) January 9, 2021