A brand-new Boeing 737-800 aircraft crashed Monday (Oct. 29, 2018) into the Java Sea shortly after takeoff from Jakarta, Indonesia.
Lion Air Flight 610 had just taken off when three minutes into the flight the pilot requested to return to the airport. It was at an altitude of about 5,200 feet. Although the flight reportedly was cleared to return, the aircraft plunged into the sea minutes later.
The National Search and Rescue Agency conducted an extensive search, but officials told the media that no one among the 189 passengers and crew are expected to have survived the violent crash into the water.
The aircraft was a Boeing 737 MAX8 that officials said had been in use since Aug. 15. Boeing is headquartered in Chicago. Lion Air is a privately-held company and reportedly is one of Indonesia’s youngest and fastest-growing airlines, flying to dozens of domestic and international destinations.
Government safety officials are searching for the cockpit voice and flight data recorders to help determine the cause of the crash of the twin-engine, narrow-body aircraft.
The crash is the worst airline disaster in Indonesia since the AirAsia flight from Surabaya to Singapore crashed into the sea in December, 2014, killing all 162 on board.