On Saturday, January 9, 2021, Sriwijaya Air flight SJ182, operated with the Boeing 737-500 with the registration PK-CLC, lost radio contact at 14:40 p.m. local time for reasons that are still unexplained. The plane crashed near the island of Palau Laki, according to an official statement from the head of the regional government of Sribu, Indonesia.

The Boeing 737-500 was en route from Jakarta to Pontianak and was in the air in about four minutes before radio contact between air traffic controllers and pilots was broken. According to the first official information, there were 56 passengers and six crew members on board. The regional government immediately initiated search and rescue measures. It is currently completely unclear whether there are survivors or not.

The cause of the crash is also unknown. Accident investigators will have to determine these. All that is currently known is that the 27-year-old medium-haul jet took off at 7:36 a.m. UTC from Jakarta Airport and climbed to 10.900 feet. Then the PK-CLC suddenly lost a lot of altitude. The last altitude signal sent by the machine was 250 feet. Contact broke off at 7:40 a.m. UTC. The regional government has now confirmed that the Sriwijaya Air plane has crashed.