BANGKOK – A passenger plane carrying more than 60 people crashed into the Java Sea a few minutes after taking off from the Indonesian capital Jakarta on Saturday, Indonesian officials said, again drawing attention to a nation long cursed by air disasters.
The fate of the plane, a Boeing 737-500, also had the potential to drag the troubled American aviation giant into a worse public spot, although the cause of the crash was not yet clear.
The Indonesian Ministry of Transportation announced that the last contact with the plane, Sriwijaya Air Flight 182, was at 2:40 p.m. local time. The plane flew to the city of Pontianak on the island of Borneo. According to the Ministry of Transport, there were 62 people on board. Four minutes after taking off in heavy rain in the monsoon season, the 26-year-old aircraft lost more than 10,000 feet of altitude in less than 60 seconds after a delay in bad weather, according to Flightradar24, the flight tracking service.
The Indonesian National Search and Rescue Agency said it found debris in waters northwest of Jakarta that it believed could have come from the wreckage of the aircraft, but that darkness and bad weather hampered the search. The area where the debris was found is known as the Thousand Islands.
“Tomorrow we will investigate the place,” said Soerjanto Tjahjono, the head of the National Road Safety Committee in Indonesia, on Saturday evening, clouding hopes that survivors could be found.
Boeing confirmed the crash on Saturday and said on Twitter: “Our thoughts are with the crew, passengers and their families. We are in contact with our airline customers and are ready to support them in these difficult times. “
The aviation sector in Indonesia, a developing country with thousands of inhabited islands, has been plagued by crashes and security vulnerabilities for years. As Indonesian airlines, especially low-cost airlines, have grown rapidly to cover a vast archipelago, the domestic aviation industry has been undermined by poor aircraft maintenance and careless adherence to safety standards.
For years, the leading Indonesian air carriers were banned from flying to the US and Europe by the regulators of these countries. Low cost airlines would go into business only to file for bankruptcy after fatal crashes.
However, Sriwijaya Air, Indonesia’s third largest airline, which opened in 2003, has never suffered a fatal crash.
And the Sriwijaya Air plane, which disappeared from radar screens on Saturday, was part of Boeing’s 737 500 series, which is considered a workhorse model with years of safe flying.
Whatever the cause, the crash comes at a terrible time for Boeing, whose reputation and profits were shattered two years ago by two crashes aboard its 737 Max aircraft.
In 2018, Lion Air Flight 610 crashed into the Java Sea with 189 people on board after the anti-stall system of the 737 Max jetliner malfunctioned. Another 737 Max crashed in Ethiopia in March 2019 after a similar faulty activation of the antistall system.
A total of 346 people died in these crashes that led to the creation of the Max fleet worldwide, sparked criminal investigations, scrutinized governments around the world and resulted in the overthrow of the Boeing CEO. In November, the Federal Aviation Administration became the first major aviation authority to lift its flight ban after requiring software updates, rewiring and retraining of pilots. At the end of December, American Airlines became the first US airline to resume scheduled flights on board the 737 Max.
Boeing estimated last year that grounding would cost more than $ 18 billion. But that was before the coronavirus pandemic brought travel to a standstill and messed up the aviation industry. In 2020, Boeing lost more than 1,000 aircraft orders, mostly for the Max, although there are still more than 4,000 left. The share price has fallen by about a third compared to two years ago.
On Thursday, the company announced it would pay more than $ 2.5 billion in an agreement with the Justice Department related to the antistall software used in the 737 Max. This includes $ 500 million for the families of those killed in the accidents and $ 1.77 billion in compensation for customers. In a statement announcing the deal, a senior Justice Department official accused Boeing staff of “choosing the path of gain over openness by hiding essential information from the FAA”.
Whistleblowers have accused Indonesian transportation officials of ignoring danger signs as domestic airlines, including Lion Air, expanded rapidly to cater to a growing middle class in a nation of 270 million people.
The Lion Air Group, which belongs to Indonesia’s largest airline, signed the two largest air transport agreements in history at the time, one with Boeing and one with Airbus. Boeing had targeted airlines in developing countries like Lion Air with its 737 Max model. eager to pack their fleets with new jets designed for short money-making.
However, aviation experts warned that selling aircraft to airlines, which are growing rapidly in unregulated environments, could be a recipe for disaster.
Jefferson Irwin Jauwena, the executive director of Sriwijaya Air, said Saturday night that they are “very concerned about this incident”.
“We hope your prayers will help the search process go well and smoothly,” he added. “We will also offer the families the best possible help.”
Rapin Akbar, the uncle of Rizki Wahyudi, one of the passengers on Flight 182, said his nephew called him on Saturday to tell him the flight from Jakarta to Pontianak was delayed. Mr Rapin reminded his nephew, a national park employee, to keep his face mask at the airport to avoid contracting the coronavirus. Mr. Rizki’s wife, child, mother and cousin were also on the plane.
While waiting for search and rescue boats to report, Mr Rapin said he was hoping for his family members. “There will be a miracle from Allah,” he said.
Indonesian aviation analysts said this crash could jeopardize the viability of Sriwijaya Air, especially as the coronavirus has emptied the Indonesian skies of many planes.
“Sriwijaya is trying hard to survive and the pandemic is making it harder,” said Gerry Soejatman, an Indonesian aviation expert. “This crash could mean the end.”
Indonesian pilots have also complained that the coronavirus has reduced their opportunities to practice their skills and brush up on their training. At one point during the pandemic, Sriwijaya only operated five planes, Soejatman said, which lowered crew morale.
At the Indonesian National Road Safety Committee, investigators were preparing for the very familiar task of finding out what went wrong in the country’s skies.
“Whenever we hear this kind of news, we get ready,” said Ony Suryo Wibowo, a committee investigator, on Saturday. “We collect all the information we can get.”
Niraj Chokshi contributed to the coverage from New York.
