Indonesia: Survivors Unlikely from Lion Air Plane Crash

 

An Indonesian passenger airplane crashed into the sea on Monday, just minutes after taking off from Jakarta.

Indonesian officials say all 189 people on Lion Air Flight 610 were likely killed.

The Associated Press reports that search and rescue teams have recovered human remains¹. One official said searchers are not expecting to find any survivors², based on the condition of the remains.

Hundreds of people are involved in the operation. They have recovered pieces of the plane and personal belongings³, including pictures and identification documents.

The crash has shocked Indonesia. President Joko Widodo ordered the transport safety commission to investigate. He urged people to “keep on praying” as rescue crews continue their search for victims.

The crash involved a new aircraft. One air traffic official said the flight was cleared to return to Jakarta after the pilot made a “return to base” request two to three minutes after leaving the airport. The plane came down about 10 minutes later in waters northeast of Jakarta.

Lion Air officials said the plane was on a 70-minute flight to Pangkal Pinang, off the coast of Sumatra. The plane was reported to be carrying 181 passengers, including one child and two babies, and eight crew members.

Friends and family members prayed and held hands as they waited at the airport in Pangkal Pinang. Others gathered at a crisis center set up in the Jakarta airport. Indonesian television broadcast pictures of objects and oil covering the water’s surface in the area where the aircraft came down.

The Indonesian meteorology agency noted⁴ that weather conditions for the flight were safe. It said that winds were weak and clouds normally connected with air turbulence⁵ were not present.

The aviation website Flightradar24 reports that Lion Air took possession of the aircraft two months ago. It said the company put the plane, a Boeing 737 Max 8, to use within days.

The head of Lion Air, Edward Sirait, said the plane had a technical problem on its most recent flight, from Bali to Jakarta. But he added the problem had been fully⁶ corrected. The company said the pilot of Flight 610 had more than 6,000 hours of flying experience, while the co-pilot had more than 5,000 hours.

The plane’s manufacturer, the United States-based Boeing Company, said it was deeply saddened and was prepared to provide technical assistance to the Indonesian investigation⁷.

The crash is the worst airline accident in Indonesia since an AirAsia flight crashed in December 2014. All 162 people on that plane were killed.

In 2007, Indonesian airlines were barred from flying to Europe because of safety concerns. But several carriers were permitted to restart flights to European airports during the following 10 years. The ban was completely lifted in June of this year. The U.S. government ended its own ban on Indonesian carriers in 2016.

Words in This Story

aviation – n. the operation of airplanes; the manufacture, development and design of airplanes

commission – n. a government or government-led agency

meteorology – n. the study of Earth’s atmosphere, usually involving the weather and making weather predictions

turbulence – n. unusual or strange movements in the atmosphere, as seen in “up” and “down” air currents

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

3 belongings   

n.私人物品，私人财物

参考例句：

• I put a few personal belongings in a bag.我把几件私人物品装进包中。
• Your personal belongings are not dutiable.个人物品不用纳税。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 turbulence   

n.喧嚣，狂暴，骚乱，湍流

参考例句：

• The turbulence caused the plane to turn over.空气的激流导致飞机翻转。
• The world advances amidst turbulence.世界在动荡中前进。

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。