Final Seconds of Communication between Lion Air JT 610 and ATC
2 November 2018 14:06 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Latest report on the ill-fated Lion Air flight JT 610 that crashed into Tanjung Karawang sea suggest that it experienced technical issues just minutes after taking off from the Soekarno Hatta airport on Monday.
Based on the radio transcription between Soekarno-Hatta’s air traffic controller (ATC) that Tempo obtained, the Lion Air pilot Bhavye Suneja asked his airspeed to the ATC after experiencing a technical issue less than two minutes after take-off at 06:21.53.
The pilot’s request to change altitude to 5,000 feet was approved by ATC and was requested to maintain altitude at 06:24.58. During this exchange, Bhavye asked the ATC to confirm the plane’s airspeed to which the ATC answered 332 knots.
However, at 06:29 the ATC saw Lion Air JT 610 left 5,000 feet followed by the Bhavye communicating to the ATC upon a problem with the plane’s flight control and asked for his plane to be given 3,000 feet separation with other aircraft in his airspace.
Just minutes after at 06:32, ATC asked the pilot whether Bhavye was ready to land again at Soekarno-Hatta, but the pilot did not answer and seconds after, Lion Air flight JT 610 vanished from the ATC’s radar.
AirNav Indonesia public relations manager Yohanes Sirait did not answer Tempo’s text message upon confirming the transcription.
Furthermore, the National Transportation Safety Commission (KNKT) rescue team successfully recovered the aircraft’s flight data recorder (FDR) from the plane’s wreckage submerged under the seabed just 500 meters from its last contact with ATC.
“We believe that the Lion Air flight JT 610 crashed into the sea in a substantial amount of speed and did not explode mid-air,” said KNKT Chief Soerjanto Tjahjono.
BUDI SETYARSO | INDRI MAULIDAR
