On 1 January 2007, at 12:55 local time (05:55 UTC), the plane departed from Juanda Airport, Surabaya, with 96 passengers (85 adults, 7 children and 4 infants) and 6 crew on board. The passenger list was composed mainly of Indonesian nationals; the only foreigners were an American family of three. The two-hour flight, scheduled to arrive at Sam Ratulangi Airport, Manado, at 16:00 local time, was as expected until the plane disappeared from air traffic control radar screens at Makassar, South Sulawesi, with the last contact at 14:53 local time (06:53 UTC). The last known beacon position was detected by a Singaporean satellite. The altitude of the plane was shown as 35,000 feet (10,670 m) on the radar screen.
Weather in the region was stormy; the Indonesian Bureau of Meteorology and Geophysics noted that the cloud thickness was up to 30,000 feet (9,140 m) in height and wind speed at an average of 30 knots (56 km/h) in the area.
Although the Juanda Airport operator, PT Angkasa Pura I, had given
warnings to the pilot concerning the weather condition, the plane had
departed as scheduled. The plane ran into crosswinds of more than 70 knots (130 km/h) over the Makassar Strait, west of Sulawesi, where it changed course eastward toward land before losing contact. In his last radio transmission, the pilot reported the crosswinds to be coming from the left, but air traffic control claimed that the winds should be coming from the right.
Contrary to early reports, no calls for help were sent by the aircraft
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