Earlier this week (29th October), the world was shocked upon hearing news that Lion Air flight JT-610 crashed into the Java Sea, Indonesia where 189 passengers were reportedly on board.
Now, in a report by the Associated Press, a video of the passengers boarding their doomed flight has now surfaced online. The video showing a boarding pass along with a shot of other passengers boarding the plane was taken by a passenger named Inchy Ayorbaba, who sent it to his wife via WhatsApp about 35 minutes before take-off.
The video was thought to have been sent to comfort his wife, who felt slightly anxious about his trip.
Later that morning at around 9am, she heard news of a Lion Air flight that had crashed while en route to Pangkal Pinang, the same island where her husband was headed. Upon inspecting the video he had sent her, she started to believe that Ayorbaba was gone. She was quoted by the news outlet as saying,
“I kept calling him, sending WhatsApp messages, hoping that he didn’t go, or something made him cancel his trip but there was no answer.”
Source: Business Insider
In more recent developments, the plane’s black box was finally found and retrieved by search and rescue divers. On the day prior to the deadly crash, the same plane had technical problems just 5 minutes after take-off, causing the pilot to put out an urgent call just one level below Mayday, requesting to return to the airport. However, engineers had cleared the plane to fly upon inspection.
Let’s hope investigations into this plane crash can help prevent future tragedies from taking place. Our thoughts and prayers also go out to the families of the victims.
Also read: Man Survives Lion Air Tragedy Because He was 10 Minutes Late to the Airport
