Crew did not alert emergency before Indonesian passenger jet plunged into sea: Reports

The crew of Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737-500, the Indonesian passenger jet
that crashed off in Jakarta over the weekend with 62 people aboard, did not
alert for technical problems or declare emergency before it plunged into the Java
Sea, an investigator said on Monday, AFP reported.

The inspectors have not found a reason as to what caused the 26-year-old
plane crashed just four minutes after takeoff.

A recording of conversations with air traffic control pointed to routine
exchanges, and there was no communication as the Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737-500
plunged about 10,000 feet (3,000 metres) in less than a minute before slamming
into the Java Sea, said National Transportation Safety Committee investigator
Nurcahyo Utomo.

“It’s like a normal conversation and nothing suspicious,” he
told AFP.

“There’s no talk of an emergency or something like that.”

The preliminary data suggested it was “most likely” that the
plane was intact when it hit the water Saturday, he added.

“But we don’t know at this stage” what caused the crash, Utomo
said.

His comments came in as divers searched the waters for black boxes, cockpit
voice and flight data recorders, that could be crucial to help explain why the
plane went down.

The team involved in recovery hauled body parts, twisted piece of
wreckage and passengers’ clothing from shallow waters about 23 metres (75 feet)
deep. Body bags filled with human remains are being taken to a police hospital
where investigators hope to identify victims by matching DNA from their remains
to living relatives.

Black boxes, despite their name, are bright orange in colour with
reflective stripes, and all commercial planes are obliged to have them on
board. Surviving vast depths and extreme heat, they are fitted with a beacon
which can emit a signal for one month.The devices record information about the
speed, altitude and direction of the plane as well as flight crew
conversations.

Also Read | Investigators launch search for crashed Indonesian plane’s black boxes

Black box data helps explain nearly 90 percent of all crashes, according
to aviation experts.

The probe into Saturday’s crash is likely to take months.

Aviation analysts said flight-tracking data showed the plane sharply
deviated from its intended course before it went into a steep dive, with bad
weather, pilot error and mechanical malfunction among the potential factors.