Indonesia widens search for missing aircraft
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No traces have yet been found of Adam Air Flight KI-574, which disappeared on 1 January with 102 passengers and crew on board.
Patrick Smith, a United States-based airline pilot and aviation commentator, has said that “whatever happened to the plane, it was likely rapid and catastrophic”. He suggested massive structural failure or an on-board explosion as potential causes of the disappearance. According to Smith it is not unheard of for aircraft not to issue a mayday. This is because the cockpit crew is too busy dealing with the situation at hand to call for help.
The head of the search and rescue mission Eddy Suyanto has said that the aircraft left Indonesia’s main island of Java for Manado on Sulawesi Island. It lost contact with air traffic control about halfway through the two-hour flight after twice having altered its course over water and land due to severe weather.
Suyanto said today (5 January) that the search has been widened to sites further north and east, Reuters reported.