All 189 likely dead in Indonesian plane crash
Jakarta, Indonesia — Rescuers pulled mangled body parts out of the Java Sea on Monday as officials here scrambled to uncover what went wrong on a nearly brand-new Boeing jet operated by Lion Air that crashed, likely killing all 189 on board.
No clear explanation has emerged about what had caused the crash, which occurred shortly after takeoff. Skies were clear. The Boeing 737 Max 8 had been in service for two months and had flown just 800 hours.
The aircraft’s pilot had asked to return to Jakarta’s airport shortly after takeoff, and his request was cleared by air traffic controllers. The plane then lost contact with controllers and plunged into the sea from 3,000 feet.
Authorities quickly launched a search-and-rescue mission but later said they do not expect to find any survivors. Throughout the day Monday, rescuers pulled debris out of the sea, including parts of the aircraft’s fuselage, ID cards and bags belonging to the passengers. Bodies and body parts were slowly being recovered and sent to a nearby hospital for identification.
People at an offshore refining facility nearby also found remnants of the aircraft, including plane seats, in the water. Officials said they have received no confirmation that anyone survived.
“My prediction is that no one has survived, because none of the victims have been found” intact and alive, said Bambang Suryo Aji, the national search-and-rescue agency’s director of operations. Nine body bags, filled with parts of the victim’s bodies, were taken to the hospital.
Fifteen ships are looking for the plane’s main section and the victims, Indonesian President Joko Widodo said at an evening news conference Monday at Jakarta’s airport. More than 300 rescuers have been deployed from the search-and-rescue agency. Among them are 30 divers plunging deep into the water to find the remaining parts of the fuselage, the bodies and the plane’s black box with the aid of underwater robots and sonar technology.
Indonesia is one of the region’s fastest-growing aviation markets — air travel is a necessity to dart across the large archipelago — but the country has long had a mixed record on airline safety.
Its airlines were banned from flying to the United States in 2007 because they were “deficient in one or more areas, such as technical expertise, trained personnel, record-keeping, or inspection procedures.” The Federal Aviation Administration lifted the