Indonesia plane crash

A Lion Air Boeing 737 carrying 189 people crashed into the ocean shortly after takeoff from Jakarta, Indonesia, on Oct. 29. There were no survivors. The flight was scheduled to land at Pangkal Pinang, Indonesia, an hour after takeoff, but contact was lost after only 13 minutes, just after the pilot requested to return to Jakarta.

At press time, the cause of the accident was not known, with investigations ongoing. The plane was new, having been in service only since August 2018.

Lion Air operates mostly domestic routes, with a few international routes to Southeast Asia, Australia and the Middle East. There have been concerns about its safety record, with two previous crashes in the last 15 years, resulting in 25 deaths. Due to safety concerns, Lion Air was banned from flying in European Union airspace from 2013 until 2016.