Investigators have confirmed that they have found a black box from the Sriwijaya Air 737 that went missing shortly after take-off from Jakarta (Soekarno-Hatta) Airport in Indonesia on Saturday 9 January.
Sixty two people, including seven children and three babies, were on the aircraft that is reported to have plunged more than 10,000 feet into the Java Sea between Lancang Island and Laki Island in the Thousand Islands area. According to Flightradar 24 and based on ADS-B data, Sriwijaya Air flight SJ182 was on route to Pontianak from Jakarta. It took off at 07.36 UTC and the signal was lost four minutes later at 07.40 UTC. After climbing to an altitude of 10,900 feet, the aircraft then began a sharp decline that saw it plunge to just 250 feet.
A low-cost carrier, Sriwijaya Air was Indonesia’s fifth-largest airline in 2019 with a network comprising 97 routes. Sriwijaya Airlines CEO Jefferson Irwin Jauwena said the aircraft, a 26-year-old Boeing 737-500, was in good condition before take off. In a statement Boeing said: “Our thoughts are with the crew, passengers, and their families. We are in contact with our airline customer and stand ready to support them during this difficult time.”
