Sriwijaya Air Flight 182 — scheduled domestic passenger flight in Indonesia, lost on 9 January 2021
The deadliest plane crash of 2021, killing all 62 aboard and attributed to a faulty autothrottle, pilot error, and inadequate training.
Key Facts
- Date of crash
- 9 January 2021
- Aircraft type
- Boeing 737-500
- Total fatalities
- 62 people
- Flight data recorder recovered
- 12 January 2021
- CVR data module recovered
- 30 March 2021
- Final report published
- 10 November 2022
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The aircraft's autothrottle had malfunctioned days before the flight. During the climb, the left engine's thrust lever reduced power while the right remained fixed, creating an asymmetric thrust condition. Investigators also cited pilot error and inadequate training as contributing factors in the final NTSC report issued in November 2022.
Sriwijaya Air Flight 182 departed Soekarno–Hatta International Airport on 9 January 2021 bound for Pontianak. Five minutes after takeoff, the Boeing 737-500 entered an upset condition and crashed into the Java Sea near the Thousand Islands, killing all 62 people on board within four minutes of becoming airborne.
Indonesian authorities launched an extensive search recovering wreckage, human remains, clothing, the flight data recorder, and the cockpit voice recorder's data storage module. The NTSC concluded its investigation in November 2022, and the crash ranked as the third deadliest accident involving a Boeing 737-500 in aviation history.