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 with air traffic control around 6.30 am, about 13 minutes after it took off. (Photo | AFP)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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)
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