An Indonesian passenger escaped death on board a Leon Air plane that crashed in the Sea of Java with 189 people on board because of his lack of travel time.
After arriving at Indonesia's Panda Belitung airport on Monday, AFP met with the passenger, Sony Setuan, on an alternative flight after missing his original flight, which crashed in the Java Sea.
The "lucky" passenger was supposed to be on board the wrecked plane, but a traffic jam in the capital Jakarta on the way to Sukarno-Hatta International Airport prevented him from arriving on time and saved his life.
Citoyan became the talk of the international media, which he met immediately after his "alternative" journey, which became the most important journey of his life.
Indonesia's search and rescue agency said the plane lost contact with the plane 13 minutes after take-off and its wreckage was found at a lost contact site.
The pilot asked to return to the airport "only two or three minutes after the take-off and the air traffic controllers agreed to his request," Novi Rianto, head of Indonesia's air traffic service, Air Nav, told a news conference.
"We need to find the fuselage," said Bambang Sorio, head of operations at the agency. "I expect there are no survivors, given the remains we have found so far."
The plane sank into waters between 30 and 35 meters deep, and objects such as mobile phones and life jackets were found in the water along with pieces.
A Reuters correspondent said ambulances lined up in Karawang on the coast east of Jakarta, and the police equipped rubber boats. Fishing boats are also used to assist in searches.
Lyon Air Chief Executive Officer Edward Serait told reporters that the plane had encountered a technical problem on a previous flight from Bali to Jakarta but that it had been "repaired according to the rules."
But he declined to specify the nature of the technical problem. He said the company was carrying 11 aircraft of the same model and did not face any of them this problem. He said the company did not intend to prevent the rest of the aircraft from flying.
