Aviation safety is really going through a bad phase in 2018, with many fatal crashes racking up hundreds of fatalities. The worst passenger plane crash this year until now came from Cubana de Aviacion, with it's Boeing 737-200 plunging into the forest after takeoff, killing 114 people. It is with great regret to learn about an even worse crash, occurring on Monday.
Lion Air flight JT610 took off from Jakarta's Soekarno Hatta International at 06:20 local time, intending to reach Pangkal Pinang Airport. 13 minutes after takeoff, the flight lost contact with Jakarta Tower. Before the disappearance of the flight, the pilots had made contact with the tower stating a return back to Jakarta. There was no distress call afterwards up until the flight disappeared. As of now, there is no clue as to the cause of the crash.
The plane operated was PK-LQP, a Boeing 737 MAX 8. Sadly, this makes it the first ever crash of a Boeing 737 MAX since it's launch. The plane was carrying 181 passengers and eight crew, all of which are presumed dead. The plane was flown by experienced pilots with a total of 11,000 flying hours logged between them.
This is the 20th major aviation incident of 2018, which brings me to wonder what is happening this year with the number of aircraft losses. It is surely a harsh turn on the tables since 2017 was the safest year in aviation history with no crashes at all and now 2018 brings so many unfortunate incidents.
Nevertheless, may all the passengers on board the ill-fated flight rest in peace and condolences be offered to families. With two more months of 2018 to go, I truly hope that the worst is over.
