Reliable tracking service Flightradar24 says that Flight SJ182 "lost more than 10,000 feet of altitude in less than one minute about 4 minutes after departure from Jakarta".
A Sriwijaya Air passenger jet carrying 62 people has lost contact with air traffic controllers after taking off from Indonesia's capital on a domestic flight.
Indonesian Transportation Ministry spokesperson Adita Irawati said the Boeing 737-500 took off from Jakarta at about 0656GMT and lost contact with the control tower at 0740GMT.
“The missing plane is currently under investigation and under coordination with the National Search and Rescue Agency and the National Transportation Safety Committee,” Irawati said in a statement.
Reliable tracking service Flightradar24 said on its Twitter feed that Flight SJ182 "lost more than 10,000 feet of altitude in less than one minute, about 4 minutes after departure from Jakarta".
Accidents due to aging infrastructure
The aircraft is a 27-year-old Boeing 737-500, according to registration details included in the tracking data.
Sriwijaya Air, an Indonesian airline, said in a statement it is still gathering more detailed information regarding the flight before it can make any statement.
Indonesia, the world’s largest archipelago nation, with more than 260 million people, has been plagued by transportation accidents on land, sea and air because of overcrowding.