INDONESIA — Indonesia's disaster agency says a plane carrying 188 passengers and crew crashed into the sea on Monday morning.

  • Officials: Pilot asked to return to airport minutes after takeoff
  • The plane was brand new Boeing aircraft

The Lion Air passenger plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Jakarta.

Plane debris and personal items from passengers were found in the water by vessels searching for the fallen Flight 610.

Indonesian officials now say the pilot asked to return to the airport, just a couple of minutes after takeoff.

The 737 Max 8 plane was a brand new Boeing aircraft according to aviation tracking website Flight-radar-24.

Boeing spokesman Paul Lewis says Boeing is "closely monitoring the situation.''