Crew on crashed jet did ‘ not declare emergency’
Inspectors have so far been unable to say why the plane crashed
The crew of an Indonesian passenger jet that crashed off Jakarta at the weekend with 62 people aboard did not declare an emergency or report technical problems before it suddenly plunged into the sea, an investigator said yesterday.
So far, inspectors have so far been unable to say why the 26- year- old plane crashed just four minutes after takeoff, but they do know the location of the black boxes.
A recording of conversations with air traffic control pointed to routine exchanges, and there was no communication as the Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737- 500 plunged about 3,000 metres in less than a minute before slamming into the Java Sea, said National Transportation Safety Committee investigator Nurcahyo Utomo. “It’s like a normal conversation and nothing suspicious,” he said.
Preliminary data
“There’s no talk of an emergency or something like that.” The preliminary data suggested it was “most likely” that the plane was intact when it hit the water Saturday, he added. “But we don’t know at this stage” what caused the crash, Utomo said.
His comments came as divers searched waters off Jakarta for black boxes — cockpit voice and flight data recorders— that could becrucial to help explain why the plane went down. There were 62 Indonesian passengers and crew aboard the half- full flight, including 10 children. Some of the 2,600 personnel working in the recovery effort involving dozens of boats and helicopters are hauling body parts, twisted piece of wreckage and passengers’ clothing from shallow waters about 23 metres deep.