Indonesia readies choppers, airplanes to search for missing plane

The Indonesian Air Force (TNI AU) has readied two helicopters and a plane to help search for a Sriwijaya Air plane that lost contact with air traffic controllers on Saturday.

TNI AU readied the helicopter and plane to follow instruction from Chief of the National Defense Forces (TNI) Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto, Air Force spokesman First Marshal Indan Gilang B said, in a written statement released on Saturday, reports Indonesian news agency Antara.

The two helicopters are Super Puma NAS-332 from Air Squadron 6 and EC-725 Caracal from Air Squadron 8 at Atang Sendjaja Airbase in Bogor, West Java.

The planes are maritime spy fixed wing Boeing 737 from Air Squadron 5 at Sultan Hasanudin Airbase in Makassar and CN-295 of Air Squadron 2 from Halim Perdanakusuma Airbase in Jakarta.

Sriwijaya Air flight number SJY 182 took off from Soekarno-Hatta Airport at 2.40 p.m. local time on Saturday, and was scheduled to land at Supadio Airport in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, at 3:50 p.m.

The Ministry of Transportation has confirmed that airport authorities lost contact with Sriwijaya Air flight number SJY 182 serving the Jakarta-Pontianak route at approximately 2:40 p.m.

“There has been contact lost with a Sriwijaya aircraft on the Jakarta – Pontianak route with call sign SJY 182. The last contact was at 14:40 WIB,” the Ministry’s Director General of Air Transportation, Novie Riyanto, told Antara here on Saturday.

Novie said an investigation was currently being coordinated with the National SAR Agency (Basarnas) and the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT).

“We will provide further information if there are new developments,” he added.

The Boeing 737-500 jet, registration number PK CLC, had its last contact at a position 11 nautical miles north of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Tangerang, in suburban Jakarta, after passing an altitude of 11,000 feet and while rising to 13,000 feet.