Searching for clues in the deadly crash of Indonesia airlines plane

Lion Air Flight 610 left the Jakarta airport Monday morning on a clear day and with an experienced pilot flying a brand new plane. Somehow the aircraft plunged into the ocean just minutes after take off — killing 189 people.

Fifteen minutes after the plane departed at 6:20 a.m. local time, the pilot asked to turn around. Roughly ten minutes later, only one mile in the air, the plane nosedived into the Java Sea.

Controlling the aircraft was 31-year old Bhavye Suneja of Deli, India. He’s been a pilot for nine years and logged more than 6,000 flying hours.

Dave Rohrer, an active pilot and president of the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, says detectives should look into any potential illegal activity while investigating the aircraft.

The plane, despite it’s age, already had some problems just a day before the crash.

“On Sunday it came in as an unserviceable air plane and required maintenance action. So you certainly want to look at that entire maintenance history of the plane and what was done before it was returned to service,” said Rohrer.

The aircraft was barely a three-month-old Boeing 737 Max 8 which seats 210 people. Air Canada says they have 18 of that model in their fleet right now.

The Boeing website states that Air Canada is awaiting the delivery of 61 737 Max’s while WestJet has ordered 50.

The crash adds to an already tarnished reputation for Indonesian airlines. Companies based in that country were barred from flying to Europe in 2007 due to safety concerns. The ban was eventually lifted this past June. The U.S. also imposed a decade-long ban that was lifted in 2016.