The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Investigators search sea for clues to plane crash
Indonesia: Reports of problems with aircraft in which 189 died
Rescuers are continuing their search of the sea after the Indonesian plane crash that killed 189 people.
Relatives have provided samples for DNA tests to help identify victims of the Lion Air plane crash.
The search continued north-east of Jakarta as accounts emerged of problems on the jet’s previous flight, including rapid descents.
The two-month-old Boeing 737 MAX 8 jet crashed into the Java Sea early on Monday, just 13 minutes after taking off from Jakarta for an island off Sumatra.
“We felt like in a rollercoaster. Passengers began to panic”
Its pilot requested clearance to return to the airport just two to three minutes after take-off, indicating a problem.
Aircraft debris and personal belongings scattered in the sea are being sorted into evidence bags.
Two passengers on the plane’s previous flight, from Bali to Jakarta on Sunday, told of issues that led to alarm.
Alon Soetanto said the plane dropped suddenly several times in the first few minutes of its flight.
“We felt like in a rollercoaster. Passengers began to panic and vomit,” he said.
His account was consistent with data from flight-tracking sites that show erratic speed, altitude and direction in the minutes after the jet took off.
A similar pattern is also seen in data pinged from Monday’s fatal flight.
But safety experts cautioned that the data must be checked against the plane’s black boxes, which officials are confident will be recovered.
Lion Air president Edward Sirait said there were reports of technical problems with the flight from Bali but they were resolved in accordance with the manufacturer’s procedures.
Indonesian TV presenter Conchita Caroline, who was on Sunday’s flight, said boarding was delayed by more than an hour and a technical problem forced the plane to return to its parking space.
Yesterday, many distraught family members went to a police hospital where authorities asked for medical and dental records and samples for DNA testing to help identify victims.
Experts from Boeing were expected to arrive in Jakarta today to help with the investigation, Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee said.
The Transport Ministry has ordered an inspection ofallBoeing737MAX8 planes in Indonesia.
More than 800 people from multiple agencies are involved in the search, which has been expanded to a 10-nautical-mile area.
Specialist ships and remotely operated underwater vehicles have been deployed to search for the plane’s hull and flight recorders.