Indonesian airline will be investigated after plane carrying 189 people crashed into the sea

Indonesia's Ministry of Transport announced today that authorities will conduct an assessment of Lion Air's operations after its plane carrying 189 people crashed into the sea last week, according toBloomberg.

The special inspection team will evaluate all standard operating procedures, crew qualifications, and coordination with industry stakeholders at Lion Air. The Ministry of Transport is also coordinating with organizations such as the European Union (EU), the International Civil Aviation Organization, and the US Federal Aviation Administration, and corrective steps will be taken based on the investigation results.

Lion Air flight JT610 crashed into the Java Sea shortly after taking off from Jakarta airport on the morning of October 29. Authorities believe all 189 people on board were killed.

Indonesian authorities have stepped up inspections of all aircraft in service, while President Joko Widodo has ordered airlines to prioritize passenger safety. The government has also ordered a review of Lion Air's repair and maintenance unit and suspended several managers after it emerged that the plane had experienced technical problems in the days before the disaster.

The decision to investigate Lion Air came as the search entered its seventh day. Indonesia's Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) on November 4 decided to extend the search time beyond the initial plan because the fuselage and many victims' bodies had not yet been found.

Basarnas said on November 3 that some divers had reported seeing the fuselage of the plane on the seabed, but the agency’s head said the image was just the shell of the plane. As of November 4, 105 body bags, mostly containing human remains, had been recovered and handed over to police for forensic examination. However, Indonesian forensic experts have only identified seven victims.