Mother of Lion Air flight attendant saw ‘omen’ days before plane crash

In this May 12, 2012 file photo, a Lion Air passenger jet is parked on the tarmac at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, Indonesia. Indonesia’s Lion Air said Monday, Oct. 29, 2018, it has lost contact with a passenger jet flying from Jakarta to an island off Sumatra. Image: AP/Trisnadi

A mother whose flight attendant daughter was aboard the ill-fated Lion Air flight JT610 said that she saw an “omen” just two days before the plane crashed into the Java Sea.

The plane had 189 people aboard, including a child and two babies, when it crashed into the sea just minutes after taking off from Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang. Meanwhile, 19-year-old Alfiani Hidayati Solikah was one of the eight crew members on the flight, as per The Jakarta Post last Oct. 30, and was only two months into being a flight attendant when the plane crashed into sea on Oct. 29.

Sukartini, the mother of Alfiani, shared that two days before the crash — on the afternoon of Oct. 27 — she discovered that a zebra dove had flown into their house and fallen into a water tank located on the second floor.

She saved the dove and placed it inside a cage, the thought never crossing her mind that this could have been a sign for what was to come for her only daughter.

“The bird is still alive,” Sukartini was quoted as saying in kompas.com. She shared her uncanny narrative on the day of the crash when Madiun Regent Ahmad Dawami was in their home, which was teeming with anxious loved ones all waiting for updates on Alfiani.

Many civilian divers have since risked their lives in volunteering to help in the search mission for the 189 people inside the plane. Syachrul Anto, a former member of Indonesia Divers and a volunteer for the search, perished on Nov. 2 while ascending to the surface. He died from decompression.

Meanwhile, Indonesian authorities have stopped searching for the Lion Air victims, as per various reports. Authorities would instead be limiting their operations to monitoring and will continue to keep an eye out for the plane’s second black box. Cody Cepeda/JB

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