Boeing 737 Crash: Sriwijaya Air, Flight SJ-182. What We Know of Another Horrible Tragedy
The 26 year old Boeing 737–500, had taken off from Jakarta. Officials say they found body parts and part of the wreckage.
A Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737–500 (not to be confused with the MAX, which is still grounded by aviation regulatory authorities), registration PK-CLC was performing flight SJ-182 from Jakarta to Pontianak (Indonesia) with 56 passengers and 6 crew on board. Of the 56 passengers, 40 were adults, with 7 children and 3 infants.
The flight had been cleared to climb to FL290. While climbing through 10,800 feet MSL out of Jakarta, 11nm north of Jakarta’s Soekarno Hatta International Airport over the Java Sea, radar and radio contact was lost with the aircraft at 14:40 Local time, 4 minutes after takeoff.
Departure control was notified that the aircraft was not on its assigned heading of 075 degrees, tracking north-westerly. Control queried the crew about the heading, but received no reply, at which point the aircraft disappeared off radar.
A 3D reconstruction from ADS-B data shows the aircraft losing altitude at a high rate of descent of approximately 10,000 feet (with an average sink rate of 26,300 fpm) in a matter of seconds.
Aftermath
Soekarno Airport and Indonesia’s Ministry of Transport confirmed radar and radio contact with the aircraft was lost, and the Ministry has since confirmed that the aircraft has crashed. Data review is underway.
A search and rescue/recovery operation is in progress under the coordination of the Basarnas, Indonesia’s national search and rescue agency, who have located debris believed to be from the aircraft, at the crash site between Laki Island and Lancang Island. Body parts, belongings, seats and cables were recovered from the waters, approximately 15 meters deep near Lancang Island. Establishing the position of the aircraft, cockpit voice recorder, flight data recorder, and the black boxes by the following morning is a priority.
The airline has stated it is in contact with the aviation authorities. A statement will be issued once all the necessary details have been established. The airline published a hotline number, however, no statement has been released as of yet.
Indonesia’s KNKT (National Transportation Safety Committee) has opened an investigation, commencing their search for the black box on Sunday, Jan 10th.
Residents’ account of the crash
Residents of the islands nearby have recounted the event, stating that they were out at sea in two boats when they heard two explosions, and then found debris nearby.
Due to inclement weather, it was raining at that time. The residents returned to their islands about 2 hours after the event and reported to police. Another ship with 20 crew, near the crash site, reported that they observed an object fall into the waters, at which point it set course towards the site. The ship held its position until search and rescue services arrived.
Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT)
An ELT is a device that transmits digital signals, and is activated by excessive G-forces experienced during a crash. It is deployable when submerged under water (using hydrostatic sensors) or upon impact. It is designed to locate the position of an aircraft when submerged under water at a depth that makes it difficult to spot and recover.
Early reports indicate that the ELT on this particular 737–500 did not deploy, possibly signalling a maintenance problem (to be determined through investigation).
Aviation safety: Indonesia’s bane
Indonesia’s abysmal track record for aviation safety resulted in a decade long EU ban of the country’s various airlines. However, those sentiments improved over the years, especially with the lifting of the EU ban in 2009 to Garuda Indonesia, the country’s national carrier, and consequently to all Indonesian airlines in 2018. The country’s safety ranking was also upgraded by the FAA in 2016.
2018 is also the same year as the Lion Air Flight-610 737MAX crash. It remains to be seen whether a ban will be imposed again.
The elephant in the room
Folks, the aircraft in question is a 737–500, not a 737MAX. That needs to be made very clear, since speculation and arm-chair/keyboard warriors may spread this misinformation to demonize Boeing or the airline.
The flying public needs to know that the 737 they may be embarking on tomorrow or the next day or next week, is still not a MAX, and in all likelihood, not a 737–500. Few airlines operate the -500 since it is a 30 year old airplane. Even if they do, and you just happen to be flying one, rest assured that flying is still the safest form of travel. Safer than driving to the airport. This needs to be reiterated.
In addition, airlines follow very strict regulations and guidelines set out by the FAA, EASA, TCCA, ICAO and other regulatory bodies that value the safety of passengers and crew as their #1 priority.
A lot of details are yet to be found, examined, determined and studied. This page will be updated as they come.
One thing is for certain. There were no survivors.
Our hearts, and spirits mourn with the families of the deceased.
Glossary
ADS-B: Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast
Basarnas: Indonesia’s national search and rescue agency
EASA: European Union Aviation Safety Agency
ELT: Emergency Locator Transmitter
FAA: Federal Aviation Administration
FL290: flight level 290 i.e. 29,000 feet
fpm: feet per minute
ICAO: International Civil Aviation Organization
MSL: mean sea level
nm: nautical miles
NTSB: National Transportation Safety Board
TCCA: Transport Canada Civil Aviation
