Lion Air said the brand-new aircraft, on a 1-hour-andminute flight to Pangkal Pinang on an island chain off Sumatra, was carrying passengers, including one child and two babies, and eight crew members. Indonesian TV broadcast pictures of a fuel slick and debris field. At the National Search and Rescue Agency headquarters in Jakarta, family members turned up, hoping desperately for news.
Feni, who uses a single name, said her soon to be married sister was on the flight, planning to meet relatives in Pangkal Pinang. The search and rescue agency said the flight ended in waters off West Java that are 30 to 35 meters 98 to feet deep.
The Boeing Max 8 was delivered to Lion Air in mid-August and put in use within days, according to aviation website Flightradar Malindo Air, a Malaysian subsidiary of Jakarta-based Lion Air, was the first airline to being using the Max 8 last year. The pilot of Flight had more than 6, flying hours while the co-pilot had more than 5, hours. Data from FlightAware showed it had reached an altitude of only 5, feet 1, meters.
The crash is the worst airline disaster in Indonesia since an AirAsia flight from Surabaya to Singapore plunged into the sea in December , killing all on board.
In , one of its Boeing jets missed the runway while landing on the resort island of Bali, crashing into the sea without causing any fatalities among the people on board. Indonesian airlines were barred in were flying to Europe because of safety concerns, though several were allowed to resume services in the following decade.
