Indonesia's Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737-500 passenger plane crash: black box recorders located

Jakarta: Authorities have pinpointed the location of two black boxes from a crashed Indonesian jet, they said on Sunday, referring to cockpit voice and flight data recorders that could be crucial to understanding what happened to the aircraft, which had 62 people aboard.

Indonesian investigators said the plane broke apart upon impact with water, which could rule out a mid-air breakup.

National Transportation Safety Committee Chairman Soerjanto Tjahjono shared his conclusion by text message, without elaborating.

"We have located the position of the black boxes, both of them," said Soerjanto Tjahjanto, head of Indonesia's transport safety agency.

"Divers will start looking for them now and hopefully it won't be long before we get them."

Earlier report: No reasons have yet been given for the crash

Jakarta: Body parts and debris were hauled from waters near Indonesia's capital on Sunday from a Boeing passenger plane that crashed shortly after take off with 62 people on board.

The Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737-500 plunged into a steep dive about four minutes after it left Soekarno-Hatta international airport in Jakarta on Saturday afternoon.

No reasons have yet been given for the crash, with authorities focusing on a frantic search and rescue effort that appeared to offer no hope of finding any survivors.

"As of this morning, we've received two (body) bags, one with passenger belongings and the other with body parts," Jakarta police spokesman Yusri Yunus told Metro TV.

The discovery came as a flotilla of warships, helicopters and divers were deployed off the coast of the sprawling city Sunday.

Sixty-two passengers and crew were on board, including 10 children, all of them Indonesians, according to authorities.

Sriwijaya Air flight SJ182 was bound for Pontianak city on Indonesia's section of Borneo island, about 90 minutes flying time over the Java Sea.

It crashed in the Java Sea near popular day-trip tourist islands just off the coast.

Distraught relatives waited nervously for news at Pontianak airport on Saturday night.

"I have four family members on the flight - my wife and three children," Yaman Zai said as he sobbed.

"(My wife) sent me a picture of the baby today...How could my heart not be torn into pieces?"

Officials said Sunday they would continue their search by sea and air while also using sonar radar to pick up more signs of the downed jet.

Divers marked at least three sites at the suspected crash site with orange ballons, according to an AFP reporter on the scene.

"From our observation, it is strongly believed the coordinates match the ones from the plane's last signal contact," said Hadi Tjahjanto, head of Indonesia's military.

Hundreds of personnel from search and rescue, the navy, the police, with 10 warships also taking part in the search effort.

Sudden dive

Data from FlightRadar24 said the plane reached an altitude of nearly 11,000 feet (3,350 metres) before dropping suddenly to 250 feet. It then lost contact with air traffic control.

Indonesian Transport Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said Saturday that the jet appeared to deviate from its intended course just before it disappeared from radar.

Sriwijaya Air, which has about 19 Boeing jets that fly to destinations in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, has said only that it was investigating the loss of contact.

It did not immediately comment when contacted by AFP again on Sunday.

In October 2018, 189 people were killed when a Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX jet slammed into the Java Sea about 12 minutes after take-off from Jakarta on a routine one-hour flight.

That crash - and a subsequent fatal flight in Ethiopia - saw Boeing hit with $2.5 billion in fines over claims it defrauded regulators overseeing the 737 MAX model, which was grounded worldwide following the two deadly crashes.

The jet that went down Saturday is not a MAX model and was 26 years old, according to authorities.

In its initial statements on Saturday's crash, Boeing offered no immediate insights into the cause.

"We are aware of media reports from Jakarta regarding Sriwijaya Air flight SJ-182. Our thoughts are with the crew, passengers, and their families," the US-based planemaker said in a statement.

"We are in contact with our airline customer and stand ready to support them during this difficult time."

Indonesia's aviation sector has long suffered from a reputation for poor safety, and its airlines were once banned from entering US and European airspace.

In 2014, an AirAsia plane crashed with the loss of 162 lives.

Domestic investigators' final report on the AirAsia crash showed a chronically faulty component in a rudder control system, poor maintenance and the pilots' inadequate response were major factors in what was supposed to be a routine flight from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore.

A year later, in 2015, more than 140 people, including people on the ground, were killed when a military plane crashed shortly after takeoff in Medan on Sumatra island.

Timeline: Indonesia's deadliest air crashes

The crash of a Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737-500 about four minutes after it took off from Jakarta Saturday is the latest in a series of air accidents to rock Indonesia.

The Southeast Asian archipelago relies heavily on air transport to connect its thousands of islands but has suffered a string of deadly plane crashes in recent years.

The aviation sector is expanding fast as its economy booms but there are concerns airlines are struggling to find enough well-trained personnel to keep up with the rapid growth.

Once banned from European airspace over safety fears, the EU removed all Indonesian airlines from its safety blacklist in 2018 following improvements.

Here are the worst aviation disasters in the nation's history:

Northern Sumatra

The worst disaster in Indonesia's aviation history left 234 dead in 1997. An Airbus A-300B4 operated by national carrier Garuda Indonesia crashed in a smog-shrouded ravine in North Sumatra, just short of Medan's airport.

Lion Air

A Boeing 737 MAX 8 from budget airline Lion Air crashes off the coast of Indonesia in October 2018, killing 189 passengers and crew members.

Investigators cite problems with the plane's anti-stall system as one of the contributing factors.

Java Sea

In 2014, an AirAsia plane plunged into the Java Sea during stormy weather, killing 162 people. The plane was flying from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore.

Medan disaster

A Mandala Airlines domestic flight crashed shortly after take-off in 2005 into a densely populated suburb in Medan, a city of two million on the island of Sumatra, killing at least 150 including passengers, crew and people on the ground.

Military families

In June 2015 an Indonesian military plane crashed shortly after takeoff, also coming down in a residential area in Medan, killing around 122 people on board, many of them servicemen and women and their families. Around 20 people were also killed on the ground and several housing blocks torn apart.

Air Force fire

In 1991, an Air Force plane crashed in East Jakarta minutes after take off when an engine caught fire, killing 135 people according to reports. Those who died included 121 airmen, 12 crew and two people on the ground. One passenger survived.

River crash

In 1997, a Silk Air flight crashed into a river near the Indonesian city of Palembang while on its way to Singapore from Jakarta. All 104 passengers and crew were killed in what was investigated as a possible pilot murder-suicide.

New Year's Day crash

An Adam Air plane plunged into the sea off Sulawesi island on New Year's Day 2007, killing all 102 people on board. The airline was later banned from flying. Indonesian authorities said the pilots lost control after becoming preoccupied with malfunctioning navigational equipment.