BREAKING: Indonesia's Lion Air has lost contact with FL #JT610, a 737 Max-8 flying out of Jakarta; UPDATE

Breaking news out of Asia where we’re seeing reports that Indonesia’s Lion Air has lost contact with one of its jets flying out of Jakarta:

Lion Air crash:
-Boeing 737 Max-8 lost contact with air traffic control at around 7:50 a.m. local time
-Indonesia's search and rescue agency set to hold a briefing at 10 a.m.
-Destination was Bangka, large island east of Sumatra

More in our live blog: https://t.co/vB7zNsFO01 pic.twitter.com/qAHJPC8i6O

— Bloomberg (@business) October 29, 2018

The flight is JT610 flying from Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang:

We're following reports that contact has been lost with Lion Air flight #JT610 shortly after takeoff from Jakarta.

ADS-B data from the flight is available at https://t.co/zNM33cM0na pic.twitter.com/NIU7iuCcFu

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) October 29, 2018

According to the flight-tracking site FlightRadar24, it’s a relatively new aircraft:

The flight was operated by Boeing 737 MAX 8 registration PK-LQP. The aircraft was delivered to Lion Air in August of this year. It is powered by two CFM LEAP-1B engines. https://t.co/Jv0z8vytv3 #JT610 pic.twitter.com/yCkR2PbMUa

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) October 29, 2018

But it’s not looking good:

We are downloading and processing granular ADS-B data that was transmitted by the aircraft, but preliminary data show an increase in speed and decrease in altitude at last transmission. #JT610

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) October 29, 2018

Wow. Dropping in altitude during climb out is never a good sign. Looks like the flight deck crew were fighting to stay in the air. #JT610 pic.twitter.com/3MN3CUZghv

— Daniel Ayers (@4n6expert) October 29, 2018

We’ll keep you posted.

Update 1: Wreckage spotted:

BREAKING: Contact lost with Lion Air plane, tugboat crew in Karawang 'see debris of plane' #jakpost https://t.co/Z8cBKuXDrI

— The Jakarta Post (@jakpost) October 29, 2018

Recommended

Twitter Tries to Get to the Bottom of Biden's Walk with Some Solid and Definitely Not Stinky Jokes

justmindy

Advertisement

Update 2:

#Indonesia national search and rescue agency says Lion Air 737-800 passenger jet crashed into Java Sea, off Karawang. https://t.co/YKsWsMuGuo #JT610

— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) October 29, 2018

Update 3: Photos of the recovered debris:

Beberapa serpihan pesawat Lion Air JT 610 yang jatuh di perairan Karawang. Pesawat membawa 178 penumpang dewasa, 1 penumpang anak-anak dan 2 bayi dengan 2 Pilot dan 5 FA. Basarnas dan Kementerian Perhubungan terus melakukan penanganan. Beberapa kapal tug boad berada di lokasi. pic.twitter.com/Gb6P4zjCQF

— Sutopo Purwo Nugroho (@Sutopo_PN) October 29, 2018

Update 4: 189 people were on board the aircraft, including 23 government officials:

Indonesia's Lion Air flight #JT610 crashes into the sea with 189 people on board, including at least 23 government officials https://t.co/qrL0x9gpV1 pic.twitter.com/A1UaESTub4

— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) October 29, 2018

***