Thread by @AlexInAir

Breaking: A passenger Boeing 737 is missing after losing contact with Indonesian authorities shortly after take off from Jakarta airport.

Sriwijaya Air flight #SJ182 is a 737-500 (classic narrow body airline jet) — the aircraft in question is 26 years old. More to follow.

Sriwijaya Air is Indonesia’s third largest airline, listed as a “Category 1” airline, the country’s highest safety rating

@flightradar24’s ADS-B data from #SJ182 shows the aircraft losing “more than 10,000 feet of altitude in less than 1 minute” less than 5 mins after departure

Breaking: Indonesia's transport ministry confirms a search and rescue operation is now under way after contact was lost with the Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737, flight #SJ182 ⚠️

Indonesia’s ‘Basarnas’ (search and rescue agency) and KNKT (Indonesian transport safety org) confirm a search & rescue for the missing Boeing 737 is currently under way

Sriwijaya Air is a Jakarta-based Boeing customer, operating an all-Boeing fleet of 737 jets. #SJ182

(Just over 2 years ago, a new Boeing 737 MAX operated by Indonesian low-cost airline Lion Air crashed after takeoff from Jakarta in to the Java Sea (image below) — tragically, with 189 onboard)

Important to highlight that #SJ182 flight is a Boeing 737-500 classic, not a MAX.

Update: 56 passengers and 6 crew members boarded #SJ182 - the Boeing 737-500 - when it departed Jakarta earlier today.

Indonesian’s transport ministry confirms the last contact with the Sriwijaya Air flight (which had only just departed Jakarta) was at 14:20 local time.

Breaking: Scattered debris, suspected of being part of the Sriwijaya Air flight #SJ182 wreckage, has been found in the Java Sea near to Jakarta — Indonesian rescue agency

Nearby islanders are finding wreckage in the Java Sea 👇🏽 #SJ182

Breaking: Indonesia’s search and rescue agency confirms they are still working to locate the exact crash site of #SJ182, a Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737-500 which lost contact shortly after takeoff ⚠️

Update: Indonesia’s national search and rescue agency has found “several pieces of aircraft wreckage believed to be from flight #SJ182” a Sriwijaya Air 737, which dropped from radar over four hours ago.

BOEING statement: “We are aware of media reports from Jakarta, and are closely monitoring the situation. We are working to gather more information.” #SJ182

Update: It’s 05:30am in Jakarta, and the search and rescue operation for the missing Boeing 737 #SJ182 will resume soon

Debris was found prior to nightfall, the situation is set to become clearer over the coming hours — thoughts continue to be with loved ones of those onboard 🙏🏽

The Sriwijaya Air aircraft involved is a Boeing 737-500 classic (not to be confused with 737 MAX)

Indonesian authorities awarded the airline the highest safety rating, but global concerns remain over the safety of Indonesia’s entire aviation sector #SJ182

Update: “The location of both of the black boxes (flight data recorder, cockpit voice recorder) is now known” — commander #SJ182

Update: Sriwijaya Air flight #SJ182 has become the 10th worst fatal civil aviation accident in Indonesia

Indonesia has now recorded 91 fatal airline accidents since 1946, per ASN records.

Indonesia’s aviation safety record is of global concern, the European Union were forced to sanction the majority of Indonesian airlines for over a decade, claiming a poor aviation safety culture across the entire sector. #SJ182