Indonesia plane feared to have crashed shortly after takeoff from capital city of Jakarta Jessica Schladebeck
A Sriwijaya Air plane carrying 62 people lost contact with air traffic controllers shortly after taking off from Indonesia’s capital city on Saturday.
The jet, a Boeing 737-500, sat on the runway for nearly an hour after its scheduled departure before finally lifting off around 2:36 p.m, according to Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi. Sriwijaya. Air flight 182 was just four minutes into its trip to Pontianak in West Kalimantan province when it disappeared from the radar.
Maj. Gen Bambang Suryo Aji of Indonesia’s search and rescue agency, Basarnas, on Saturday told reporters that the aircraft is believed to have crashed between the islands of Laki and Lancang, in the Thousand Islands chain northwest of the capital, Jakarta.