An Indonesian Lion Air passenger jet feared to have crashed on Monday was carrying 189 passengers and crew when it went missing shortly after take-off. The aircraft, bound for Pangkal Pinang on the island of Bangka off the coast of Sumatra, lost contact w
Agency spokesman Sutopo Purwo Nugroho posted photos on Twitter of debris including a crushed smartphone, books, bags and parts of the aircraft fuselage that had been collected by search and rescue vessels that have converged on the area. (IN PHOTO | The oil slick where the plane crashed/ Twitter)The Lion Air plane that crashed after takeoff from Jakarta was a brand-new aircraft that has only been in use for a couple of months. (IN PHOTO | Rescuers inspect debris/ Twitter)Indonesia’s Search And Rescue Agency has released an official statement which says the reason for the crash is still unclear. 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. (Photo | Sutopo Purwo Nugroho / Twitter)India's Bhavye Suneja was the captain of the Indonesian Lion Air plane. LionAir in a statement said Suneja had more than 6,000 flying hours, while the co-pilot had amassed more than 5,000 hours of flying time. (IN PHOTO | A fuel slick and debris field/ AFP)Lion Air, a low-cost airline, has been involved in a number of incidents. Last year one of its Boeing jets collided with a Wings Air plane as it landed at Kualanamu airport on the island of Sumatra, although no one was injured. (IN PHOTO: Members of a rescue team prepare to search for survivors/ AFP)Indonesia's air travel industry is booming, with the number of domestic passengers growing significantly over the past decade, but it has acquired a reputation for poor regulation. The country's carriers have in the past faced years-long bans from entering European Union and US airspace over their safety records. (IN PHOTO: A relative of passengers prays as she and others wait for news/ AP)