The Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX jet that <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/indonesia-hunts-for-victims-wreckage-of-air-crash-survivors-seen-unlikely-174334">crashed in&nbsp;Indonesia&nbsp;on Monday morning</a> flew erratically during a flight the previous evening when it experienced a "technical problem", according to data from flight tracking website FlightRadar24.

After taking off from Denpasar on the holiday island of Bali on Sunday evening, the jet reported unusual variations in altitude and airspeed in the first several minutes of flight - including an 875-foot drop over 27 seconds when it would normally be ascending - before stabilising and flying on to Jakarta.

However, the pilots kept the plane at a maximum altitude of 28,000 feet compared with 36,000 feet on the same route earlier in the week.

Lion Air CEO Edward Sirait told reporters on Monday a technical problem had occurred on the Denpasar-Jakarta flight but it had been resolved "according to procedure".

Two of that flight's passengers posted on Instagram, reporting that they had been concerned about problems with the air conditioning system and cabin lighting before the plane departed nearly three hours late.

"I was angry because as a passenger who had paid her ticket, we have every right to question the aircraft's safety," said one of them, TV presenter Conchita Caroline. She added there was a "weird" engine noise upon take-off that continued during flight.

It was not clear if the cabin problems were in any way related to the technical trouble mentioned by the airline's CEO.

The Denpasar-Jakarta flight landed at 10:55 p.m. local time on Sunday, giving engineers six-and-a-half hours at most for checks before it was dispatched for the fatal Jakarta-Pangkal Pinang flight at 6:20 am&nbsp;on Monday.

The plane plunged into the sea minutes after taking off from Jakarta and all 189 people on board are believed dead.

FlightRadar24 also reported unusual air speeds and altitudes in the few minutes that Flight JT610 was in the air on Monday.

Photos of alleged technical and maintenance logs following the Sunday flight have been circulating online, but to date they have not been verified as accurate by the airline or investigators.

Sirait declined to detail the maintenance procedures taken, and on Tuesday he told Reuters the airline had provided the relevant aircraft flight and maintenance logs to&nbsp;Indonesia's National Transporation Safety Committee.

NTSC Chairman Soerjanto Tjahjono said there was a similarity between the maintenance log circulating online and the one received from Lion Air but he had not checked the exact details.

Safety experts say the crash investigation is at a very preliminary stage and it is too early to speculate about the cause.

But pilot and engineering sources told Reuters the FlightRadar24 data for both flights, while not conclusive, could be a potential indicator of something wrong with the pitot static systems. Those are pressure-sensitive instruments that feed airspeed and altitude information to an avionics computer.

"Certainly the big changes in climb/descent very early on in the flight is what makes me think unreliable speed," said a pilot at another airline, who declined to be named because he was not authorised to speak to media.

NO NOISE

The data from FlightRadar24 shows the first sign that something was amiss on Monday's fated flight came about two minutes after take-off when the plane had reached 2,000 feet.

At that point, it descended more than 500 feet and veered to the left before climbing again to 5,000 feet, where it stayed during most of the rest of the flight.

It began gaining speed in the final moments and reached 345 knots (397 mph) before data was lost when it was at 3,650 feet.

"They were going way faster than you would normally expect," said a second pilot at another airline.

Two fishermen who saw the crash from their boat out at sea told Reuters that the plane swayed slightly but made no noise as it fell, almost horizontal with its nose slightly down. There was an explosive sound as it plunged nose-first into the sea, and then there was a column of smoke.

The weather was clear at the time of the crash at 6:33 a.m. on Monday, according to the head ofIndonesia's transport safety committee, who said the pilots had requested a turnback to Jakarta.

A safe visual landing should have been possible even with faulty indicators and a lack of autopilot systems, the pilot sources said.

In July, a Malaysia Airlines flight took off from Brisbane, Australia without removing covers on the pitot tubes.

The pilots landed the Airbus SE A330 safely after obtaining groundspeed information from air traffic control and using the jet's radar altimeter, according to a preliminary report from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. There were no reported injuries.

In 2009, Air France flight 447 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean after icing that blocked the pitot tubes caused unreliable airspeed data and the confused pilots entered a high-altitude stall and ignored cockpit alarms, according to a report from France's BEA. All 228 people on board died.

The Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX jet that crashed in Indonesia on Monday morning flew erratically during a flight the previous evening when it experienced a "technical problem", according to data from flight tracking website FlightRadar24.

The Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX jet that crashed in Indonesia on Monday morning flew erratically during a flight the previous evening when it experienced a "technical problem", according to data from flight tracking website FlightRadar24. After taking off from Denpasar on the holiday island of Bali on Sunday evening, the jet reported unusual variations in altitude and airspeed in the first several minutes of flight - including an 875-foot drop over 27 seconds when it would normally be ascending - before stabilising and flying on to Jakarta. However, the pilots kept the plane at a maximum altitude of 28,000 feet compared with 36,000 feet on the same route earlier in the week. Lion Air CEO Edward Sirait told reporters on Monday a technical problem had occurred on the Denpasar-Jakarta flight but it had been resolved "according to procedure". Two of that flight's passengers posted on Instagram, reporting that they had been concerned about problems with the air conditioning system and cabin lighting before the plane departed nearly three hours late. "I was angry because as a passenger who had paid her ticket, we have every right to question the aircraft's safety," said one of them, TV presenter Conchita Caroline. She added there was a "weird" engine noise upon take-off that continued during flight. It was not clear if the cabin problems were in any way related to the technical trouble mentioned by the airline's CEO. The Denpasar-Jakarta flight landed at 10:55 p.m. local time on Sunday, giving engineers six-and-a-half hours at most for checks before it was dispatched for the fatal Jakarta-Pangkal Pinang flight at 6:20 am on Monday. The plane plunged into the sea minutes after taking off from Jakarta and all 189 people on board are believed dead. FlightRadar24 also reported unusual air speeds and altitudes in the few minutes that Flight JT610 was in the air on Monday. Photos of alleged technical and maintenance logs following the Sunday flight have been circulating online, but to date they have not been verified as accurate by the airline or investigators. Sirait declined to detail the maintenance procedures taken, and on Tuesday he told Reuters the airline had provided the relevant aircraft flight and maintenance logs to Indonesia's National Transporation Safety Committee. NTSC Chairman Soerjanto Tjahjono said there was a similarity between the maintenance log circulating online and the one received from Lion Air but he had not checked the exact details. Safety experts say the crash investigation is at a very preliminary stage and it is too early to speculate about the cause. But pilot and engineering sources told Reuters the FlightRadar24 data for both flights, while not conclusive, could be a potential indicator of something wrong with the pitot static systems. Those are pressure-sensitive instruments that feed airspeed and altitude information to an avionics computer. "Certainly the big changes in climb/descent very early on in the flight is what makes me think unreliable speed," said a pilot at another airline, who declined to be named because he was not authorised to speak to media. NO NOISE The data from FlightRadar24 shows the first sign that something was amiss on Monday's fated flight came about two minutes after take-off when the plane had reached 2,000 feet. At that point, it descended more than 500 feet and veered to the left before climbing again to 5,000 feet, where it stayed during most of the rest of the flight. It began gaining speed in the final moments and reached 345 knots (397 mph) before data was lost when it was at 3,650 feet. "They were going way faster than you would normally expect," said a second pilot at another airline. Two fishermen who saw the crash from their boat out at sea told Reuters that the plane swayed slightly but made no noise as it fell, almost horizontal with its nose slightly down. There was an explosive sound as it plunged nose-first into the sea, and then there was a column of smoke. The weather was clear at the time of the crash at 6:33 a.m. on Monday, according to the head ofIndonesia's transport safety committee, who said the pilots had requested a turnback to Jakarta. A safe visual landing should have been possible even with faulty indicators and a lack of autopilot systems, the pilot sources said. In July, a Malaysia Airlines flight took off from Brisbane, Australia without removing covers on the pitot tubes. The pilots landed the Airbus SE A330 safely after obtaining groundspeed information from air traffic control and using the jet's radar altimeter, according to a preliminary report from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. There were no reported injuries. In 2009, Air France flight 447 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean after icing that blocked the pitot tubes caused unreliable airspeed data and the confused pilots entered a high-altitude stall and ignored cockpit alarms, according to a report from France's BEA. All 228 people on board died.

Indonesian Lion Air jet flew erratically day before it crashed with 189 on board

Indonesia has called off the search for those killed in a 7.5-magnitude earthquake and tsunami on Sulawesi island on September 28. Here are the latest figures from the disaster.

- 2,073 - 
The total number of bodies recovered by Indonesian search and rescue teams, the national disaster agency said Thursday.

- 5,000 - 
Those still believed missing somewhere beneath Balaroa and Petobo, two of Palu's worst-hit areas.

- 994 - 
Victims buried in mass graves to prevent the spread of disease. The remainder were laid to rest by their families.

- 3 - 
Monuments and green spaces planned as memorials to quake victims in Palu and nearby Sigi district.

- 18,353 - 
Those who fled Palu in the aftermath of the disaster.

- 1600 - 
The number of inmates still on the run nearly two weeks after the quake brought down the walls of six prisons.

- 11 - 
The maximum height, in metres (36 feet), that the tsunami reached as it barrelled through Palu Bay and smashed into the foreshore.

- 522 - 
Aftershocks that have rattled the disaster-ravaged city since the main quake.&nbsp;

- 200,000 - 
Those in dire need of humanitarian assistance in Palu and surrounds.

- 10,679 - 
Total injured in the disaster, one quarter of them seriously.

-87,725 - 
Displaced by the quake, with many living in tents outside their damaged homes or in emergency shelters.

- 2 - 
The number of years it could take before all these people are back in homes.

Indonesia has called off the search for those killed in a 7.5-magnitude earthquake and tsunami on Sulawesi island on September 28. Here are the latest figures from the disaster.

Indonesia has called off the search for those killed in a 7.5-magnitude earthquake and tsunami on Sulawesi island on September 28. Here are the latest figures from the disaster. - 2,073 - The total number of bodies recovered by Indonesian search and rescue teams, the national disaster agency said Thursday. - 5,000 - Those still believed missing somewhere beneath Balaroa and Petobo, two of Palu's worst-hit areas. - 994 - Victims buried in mass graves to prevent the spread of disease. The remainder were laid to rest by their families. - 3 - Monuments and green spaces planned as memorials to quake victims in Palu and nearby Sigi district. - 18,353 - Those who fled Palu in the aftermath of the disaster. - 1600 - The number of inmates still on the run nearly two weeks after the quake brought down the walls of six prisons. - 11 - The maximum height, in metres (36 feet), that the tsunami reached as it barrelled through Palu Bay and smashed into the foreshore. - 522 - Aftershocks that have rattled the disaster-ravaged city since the main quake. - 200,000 - Those in dire need of humanitarian assistance in Palu and surrounds. - 10,679 - Total injured in the disaster, one quarter of them seriously. -87,725 - Displaced by the quake, with many living in tents outside their damaged homes or in emergency shelters. - 2 - The number of years it could take before all these people are back in homes.

Taking a toll: Indonesia quake-disaster in numbers

A week after a major earthquake brought devastation to Indonesia's Sulawesi island, Ichsan Hidayat told how the bodies of his sister and her 43-day-old daughter were found under a sea of mud and debris, the mother clutching her baby to her chest.

Hidayat was not on Sulawesi last Friday when the 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck, triggering a phenomenon called soil liquefaction, which turns the ground into a roiling quagmire.

The neighbourhood of Petobo, in the south of the city of Palu, where his sister, Husnul Hidayat, lived with her daughter, Aisah, was wiped out.

Rescuers who recovered the bodies told Hidayat his sister was found holding Aisah close.

"Today, I prayed that they are in a better place. They deserve better,” Hidayat told Reuters as he left Friday prayers at a mosque in the centre of Palu, 1,500 km (930 miles) northeast of Indonesia's capital, Jakarta.

Worshippers knelt to pray on red carpets put down outside the mosque as the building is unsafe due to quake damage.

Indonesia has the world's biggest Muslim population but also pockets of Christians, including on Sulawesi, and other religions.

The official death toll from the quake and the tsunami it triggered stands at 1,571, but it will certainly rise.

Most of the dead have been found in Palu. Figures for more remote areas, some still cut off by destroyed roads and landslides, are only trickling in, if at all.

No one knows how many people were dragged to their deaths when the ground under Petobo and nearby areas south of Palu, dissolved so violently.

The national disaster agency says 1,700 homes in one neighbourhood alone were swallowed up and hundreds of people killed.

Hasnah, 44, also a resident of Petobo, has trouble remembering all of the relatives she's trying to find in the tangled expanse of mud and debris.

"More than half of my family are gone," Hasnah said as she sobbed. "I can’t even count how many. Two of my children are gone, my cousins, my sister, my brother in law and their children. All gone."

Homes were sucked into the earth, torn apart and shunted hundreds of metres by the churning mud.

"The earth was like a blender, blending everything in its way," said Hasnah, who like many Indonesians goes by only one name.

'THEY LIED'

Hasnah said she has enough food and water but she's furious that a search and rescue operation in her area only began on Thursday.

"They said they would come with the heavy machines but they didn’t," she said. "They lied."

Sick of waiting for help, villagers themselves have been searching, Hasnah said.

"We’ve marked the possible bodies with sticks. You can see a foot sticking out, but there's no one here to dig them out."

Rescue workers retrieved several bodies later on Friday.

As the sun set, a mass prayer ceremony was held by Palu's seafront that was scoured by the tsunami.

"We pray for the ones who have died and for those yet to be found," the imam said. "Allahu Akbar," or God is Greatest, responded the congregation.

The first signs of recovery are evident in Palu. Electricity has been restored and some shops and banks have reopened and aid and fuel are arriving.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla, visiting the disaster zone, said recovery would be completed in two years, beginning with a two-month emergency response phase when everyone who lost their house would get temporary shelter.

Doctors have been flocking to help from other parts of Indonesia.

The Budi Agung hospital has 134 beds with about 20 more set up in a tent outside, all full. A hospital ship is also due to arrive.

Doctors said many patients have been at high risk of infection because they were buried in mud.

Rescue workers are pushing into outlying districts cut off for days. Villagers rushed a Red Cross helicopter that landed at Sirenja village near the quake's epicentre, about 75 km (45 miles) north of Palu, to drop off supplies.

Some quake damage was evident but the coast did not appear to have been battered by the tsunami, a Reuters photographer said.

Sulawesi is one of the archipelago nation's five main islands, and like the others, is exposed to frequent earthquakes and tsunami.

In 2004, a quake off Sumatra island triggered a tsunami across the Indian Ocean that killed 226,000 people in 13 countries, including more than 120,000 in Indonesia.

A week after a major earthquake brought devastation to Indonesia's Sulawesi island, Ichsan Hidayat told how the bodies of his sister and her 43-day-old daughter were found under a sea of mud and debris, the mother clutching her baby to her chest.

A week after a major earthquake brought devastation to Indonesia's Sulawesi island, Ichsan Hidayat told how the bodies of his sister and her 43-day-old daughter were found under a sea of mud and debris, the mother clutching her baby to her chest. Hidayat was not on Sulawesi last Friday when the 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck, triggering a phenomenon called soil liquefaction, which turns the ground into a roiling quagmire. The neighbourhood of Petobo, in the south of the city of Palu, where his sister, Husnul Hidayat, lived with her daughter, Aisah, was wiped out. Rescuers who recovered the bodies told Hidayat his sister was found holding Aisah close. "Today, I prayed that they are in a better place. They deserve better,” Hidayat told Reuters as he left Friday prayers at a mosque in the centre of Palu, 1,500 km (930 miles) northeast of Indonesia's capital, Jakarta. Worshippers knelt to pray on red carpets put down outside the mosque as the building is unsafe due to quake damage. Indonesia has the world's biggest Muslim population but also pockets of Christians, including on Sulawesi, and other religions. The official death toll from the quake and the tsunami it triggered stands at 1,571, but it will certainly rise. Most of the dead have been found in Palu. Figures for more remote areas, some still cut off by destroyed roads and landslides, are only trickling in, if at all. No one knows how many people were dragged to their deaths when the ground under Petobo and nearby areas south of Palu, dissolved so violently. The national disaster agency says 1,700 homes in one neighbourhood alone were swallowed up and hundreds of people killed. Hasnah, 44, also a resident of Petobo, has trouble remembering all of the relatives she's trying to find in the tangled expanse of mud and debris. "More than half of my family are gone," Hasnah said as she sobbed. "I can’t even count how many. Two of my children are gone, my cousins, my sister, my brother in law and their children. All gone." Homes were sucked into the earth, torn apart and shunted hundreds of metres by the churning mud. "The earth was like a blender, blending everything in its way," said Hasnah, who like many Indonesians goes by only one name. 'THEY LIED' Hasnah said she has enough food and water but she's furious that a search and rescue operation in her area only began on Thursday. "They said they would come with the heavy machines but they didn’t," she said. "They lied." Sick of waiting for help, villagers themselves have been searching, Hasnah said. "We’ve marked the possible bodies with sticks. You can see a foot sticking out, but there's no one here to dig them out." Rescue workers retrieved several bodies later on Friday. As the sun set, a mass prayer ceremony was held by Palu's seafront that was scoured by the tsunami. "We pray for the ones who have died and for those yet to be found," the imam said. "Allahu Akbar," or God is Greatest, responded the congregation. The first signs of recovery are evident in Palu. Electricity has been restored and some shops and banks have reopened and aid and fuel are arriving. Vice President Jusuf Kalla, visiting the disaster zone, said recovery would be completed in two years, beginning with a two-month emergency response phase when everyone who lost their house would get temporary shelter. Doctors have been flocking to help from other parts of Indonesia. The Budi Agung hospital has 134 beds with about 20 more set up in a tent outside, all full. A hospital ship is also due to arrive. Doctors said many patients have been at high risk of infection because they were buried in mud. Rescue workers are pushing into outlying districts cut off for days. Villagers rushed a Red Cross helicopter that landed at Sirenja village near the quake's epicentre, about 75 km (45 miles) north of Palu, to drop off supplies. Some quake damage was evident but the coast did not appear to have been battered by the tsunami, a Reuters photographer said. Sulawesi is one of the archipelago nation's five main islands, and like the others, is exposed to frequent earthquakes and tsunami. In 2004, a quake off Sumatra island triggered a tsunami across the Indian Ocean that killed 226,000 people in 13 countries, including more than 120,000 in Indonesia.

Bodies of mother clutching baby found as Indonesia quake toll rises above 1,500

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Indonesian Lion Air jet flew erratically day before it crashed with 189 on board

Taking a toll: Indonesia quake-disaster in numbers

Bodies of mother clutching baby found as Indonesia quake toll rises above 1,500