Sudden Descents Are Rare But Deadly: Clues to Jakarta Jet Crash
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January 11, 2021
Search and rescue team members examine debris recovered from the Sriwijaya Air SJ 182 crash site on the dockside at Tanjung Priok Port in Jakarta, Indonesia on Sunday, Jan. 10, 2021. Indonesian President Joko Widodo confirmed the plane had crashed about 20 hours after it went missing following its departure from capital Jakarta, calling on all parties to expend all efforts to search for and rescue the victims.
(Bloomberg) The crash of Sriwijaya Air Flight SJ182 still a vexing mystery falls into a broad category of airliners that suddenly plunge out of the sky.
Aviation safety analysts caution it’s far too early to say what caused the Sriwijaya crash as numerous factors, including malfunction, pilot actions or even a suicide, remain possible.
The crash of Sriwijaya Air Flight 182 still a vexing mystery falls into a broad category of airliners that suddenly plunge out of the sky. Such violent descents make up a small percentage of overall accidents, but account for an outsize portion of deaths because they almost inevitably kill everyone aboard. While the airline accident rate has steadily improved, there have been multiple crashes of that type in recent decades. The Sriwijaya flight, with a 26-year-old Boeing Co. 737-500 jet, took off from Jakarta with 62 people on Jan. 9 and at first flew what appeared to be a routine trajectory, according to a flight track produced by Flightradar24. After reaching about 10,000 feet (3,050 meters), it leveled off, staying between 10,000 and 11,000 feet for about 45 seconds, according to the data.