Indonesia says crashed plane sought return to base before losing contact

This handout photo taken and released on October 29, 2018 via the Twitter account of Sutopo Purwo Nugroho from Indonesia's National Disaster Mitigation Agency shows personnel looking at items believed to be from the wreckage of the Lion Air flight JT 610, recovered off the coast of Indonesia's Java island after the Boeing crashed into the sea. - AFP

JAKARTA (Reuters): An aircraft with 189 aboard that crashed into the sea off Indonesia’s island of Java on Monday requested to return to base shortly before losing contact, said Yohanes Sirait, a spokesman for the country’s air navigation authorities.

“The (traffic) control allowed that, but then it lost contact,” Sirait added.