Plane Crashes in Sea Near Indonesia

Update: October 31, 2018 at 1:45 p.m. ET

Lion Air fired technical director Muhammad Asif Wednesday at the behest of Indonesia’s transport minister as part of the fallout from Monday’s deadly crash.

According to NBCNews.com, Indonesian officials discovered underwater pings that helped them locate the fuselage of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 in the Java Sea. Divers were working to retrieve the black boxes from inside the wreckage.

Transport Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said in a statement the privately-owned airline would undergo a full ministry inspection. Officials continued to retrieve debris and remains of victims near the crash site.

Update: October 30, 2018 at 7:55 a.m. ET

A new report from NBCNews.com revealed the penultimate flight of the Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX 8 which crashed Monday was described as a roller coaster ride that caused several passengers to vomit.

One of the passengers on the Sunday flight from Denpasar, Bali, to Jakarta, Indonesia, said the plane took off from the airport and then began struggling to rise. The man, identified as Alon Soetanto, said it felt like the plane was losing power, causing the roller coaster motion that panicked many passengers.

Soetanto’s account is similar to what the pilot and flight tracking websites reported before the crash Monday.

While Lion Air president Edward Sirait said Sunday's technical problems were handled by technicians, Indonesia National Transport Safety Committee deputy chief Haryo Satmiko said a full investigation into the incident is underway.

Update: October 29, 2018 at 1:58 p.m. ET

Lion Air spokesperson Danang Mandala Prihantoro released a statement providing more information on the crash:

The aircraft was carrying 178 passengers, 1 child and 2 infants as well as 3 initial flight attendants, and 1 engineer on board. The Boeing 737 MAX 8 registration PK-LQP manufactured in 2018. Lion Air acquired the aircraft on August 15, 2018. The aircraft was in airworthy.

The flight crew on board including Capt. Bhavye Suneja as Pilot in Command has more than 6,000 flight hours and Hervino as Co-Pilot has more than 5,000 flight hours as well as cabin crews Shintia Melina, Citra Noivita Anggelia, Alviani Hidayatul Solikha, Damayanti Simarmata, Mery Yulianda, and Deny Maula.

Lion Air expressed deep condolences related to the accident and will cooperate with all related parties and agency regarding the accident. Lion Air open Crisis Center related to the accident.

A Lion Air plane carrying 189 people crashed into the sea Monday after taking off from Indonesia. All passengers and crew members are believed to be dead.

According to Reuters.com, Lion Air Flight JT610 took off from Soekarno–Hatta International Airport in Jakarta at around 6:20 a.m. local time. The plane managed to climb to an elevation of only 5,200 feet before losing contact with ground officials 13 minutes after takeoff.

The Lion Air operated the flight to Pangkal Pinang with a Boeing 737 MAX 8 plane that was delivered to the airline in mid-August, but initial reports suggest the aircraft experienced a technical issue on its previous flight.

Boeing is aware of reports of an airplane accident and is closely monitoring the situation.

— Boeing Airplanes (@BoeingAirplanes) October 29, 2018

The pilot of Flight JT610 reportedly called air traffic controllers to request a return to the Jakarta airport just minutes after takeoff. Within 10 minutes of receiving approval for a return landing, the plane had crashed into the water around nine miles north of Java island.

The remains of the Boeing 737 MAX 8 were found a short time later in the water around 100 feet deep. More than 300 people were involved in the search, which had already recovered human remains. Survivors are not expected.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo has called on the transport safety commission to investigate the crash, with officials looking to find the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder in order to determine what caused the tragic accident.