Indonesian plane: Rescuers find evidence after receiving signal

Indonesian plane: Rescuers find evidence after receiving signal

- Rescuers have detected a signal and discovered wreckage 23 meters under the ocean near the Indonesian capital

- On Saturday an Indonesian plane with 62 passengers on board lost contact with air control

- It was destined for Pontoanak City on the island of Borneo, a 90-minute flight

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Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737-500 dropped off the radar yesterday after taking off from Soekarno-Hatta international airport with 62 passengers on board.

Four minutes after takeoff the plane disappeared off radar and rescue teams had been mobilised to search for the missing aircraft.

A military vessel received a signal from the downed plane on Sunday and divers were sent down to investigate and they made a grizzly discovery.

Indonesian plane: Rescuers find evidence after receiving signal
Rescuers search for the wreckage of the Indonesian flight which dropped off the radar. Photo credit: Eko Siswono Toyudho/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Source: Getty Images

Parts of the plane and body parts were recovered, the area where the divers searched was 23 meters below the surface. The Indonesian transport ministry did not reveal if the signal that was found belonged to the black box.

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The cause of the crash is still unknown and the search continues, however, hope is fading that they will discover any survivors.

The flight was headed to Pontoanak City on the island of Borneo and would have taken 90 minutes.

According to News24 the plane suddenly plunged from 3 350 meters down to less than 100 meters before air traffic control lost contact.

Budi Karya, the Indonesian Transport Minister, said that the plane had appeared to drift off its intended course before contact was lost.

Earlier, Briefly.co.za reported that players in the aviation sector across the world have a reason to smile following clearance of the troubled Boeing 737 MAX planes to return to service.

US-based regulator, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), announced it had issued an order that paves the way for the fleet to return to the skies.

Steve Dickson, the FAA Administrator, said airlines are required to show proof of training pilots and servicing aircraft before flying.

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Boeing incurred heavy losses following grounding of the fleet, thus leading to the laying-off of thousands of staff in the production line. The aviation giant also suspended production of the fleet.

News of the ungrounding comes at a time when the aviation industry is recovering from a tough beating it has been taking from Covid-19 pandemic which killed demand for air travel, thus compounding the woes of the sector.

Most major airlines are now eyeing to improve their sales by hauling Covid-19 vaccine vials once regulatory bodies approve them for distribution.

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Source: Briefly News

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