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Explainer | Sriwijaya Air flight SJ 182: why is Indonesia the deadliest place in Asia for plane crashes?
- The loss of Sriwijaya Air flight SJ 182 is the latest in a string of tragedies to have hit Indonesian aviation, which has suffered 2,353 deaths since 1945
- Historically, mountainous terrain, a large population and bad weather have played a part. For SJ 182, was pilot rustiness due to Covid-19 also a factor?
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Images of rescuers retrieving the wreckage of Sriwijaya Air flight SJ 182 offer a grim reminder of the spate of air crashes over the past decade that have made Indonesia the most deadly place in Asia to board an aeroplane.
Fifty passengers and 12 airline employees, all Indonesians, are believed to have died on board the Boeing 737-500 when it crashed into the Java Sea on Saturday at 2.40pm local time, just four minutes after taking off from Jakarta.
The cause of the crash is as yet unknown. The pilots of the plane, bound for the city of Pontianak in West Kalimantan, were said to be experienced and the airline, which largely plies domestic routes, had a relatively good safety record with no fatal accidents since it was set up in 2003.
Divers believe they are close to retrieving the plane’s black boxes, which authorities hope will provide more clues about the tragedy, the first major air crash in more than a year since Covid-19 grounded many flights across the world.
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Indonesian divers film wreckage of crashed Sriwijaya Air passenger jet on seabed
Indonesian divers film wreckage of crashed Sriwijaya Air passenger jet on seabed
HOW BAD IS INDONESIA’S AVIATION SAFETY RECORD?
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