The morning of 29 October 2018 dawned bright in Jakarta. As the sun rose over Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft operating Lion Air flight 610 taxied for takeoff.
In the flight deck of PK-LQP that morning were captain Bhavye Suneja and his first officer Harvino. With over 6,000 hours in the air, Suneja was no novice, although Lion Air’s aggressive approach to promotions had seen him reach captain earlier than he might at other airlines. Harvino, who like many Indonesians used only one name, was also relatively experienced, with over 5,000 hours.
Certainly, the trip to Pangkal Pinang was one they had made many times before. From almost the moment flight 610 lifted off, however, Suneja’s control stick began to shake. The aircraft was warning him that something was wrong.
What neither man knew was that this particular aircraft had done this before.
The previous night
On 28 October, the crew of Lion Air flight 043 prepared to depart Ngurah Rai airport in Bali for a nighttime flight to Jakarta. As part of…
