A new Lion Air 737 crashed shortly after taking off from Jakarta. The wreckage fell to the ocean below and officials say they do not expect to find any survivors. The aircraft had only been in service since August. Some debris is being recovered now including personal items and pieces of the aircraft. 189 people were onboard.
It is reported that the aircraft requested to return to Jakarta minutes after it took off. According to reports, Edward Sirait, the president of the airline, told reporters that the plane had also encountered a technical problem on its previous flight that was subsequently resolved by maintenance technicians. “This aircraft last flew from Denpasar [Bali] to Cengkareng [Jakarta airport] and it was released to fly,” he said. “There was a report about a technical problem but we have worked on the technical issue based on the procedure from the aircraft manufacturer.”