The truth is little known about the Java Sea where Air Asia aircraft is missing

Few doubts, there have been many casualties that have occurred in the waters of Java - where Air Asia's QZ8501 plane is missing.

As reported, the aircraft bearing the QZ8501 number of Air Asia Indonesia has lost contact with air traffic control at 6h17 'on the morning of December 28 (local time) on the Java sea area - between Kalimantan and Java islands.

Java sea map - where Airasia aircraft is missing

The Indonesian air force immediately dispatched two planes to this sea area in search of the whereabouts of the missing plane. Many people ask the question, is there anything special about this sea area? Has there been any missing aircraft in this area?

The facts about Java waters below will help you find the answer to that question.

The Java Sea is part of the Western Pacific, located between large Indonesian islands such as Borneo in the north, Java in the south; Sumatra in the West and Sulawesi in the East.

The straits in the northwest of these waters like Karimata, Bangka and Gaspar connect Java with the Gulf of Thailand and the South China Sea. The Sunda Strait in the southwest connects the Java Sea with the Indian Ocean.

The Java Sea is a shallow sea, with an average depth of about 46m and a surface area of ​​about 310,000 km² (120,000 square miles).

This area is mainly influenced by the monsoon climate. The rainy season usually lasts from December to March. The special feature of the rainy season in this region is that it rains a lot, lasts for many days and is accompanied by wind. The dry season usually occurs from June to September.

There have been several incidents involving aircraft and boats in the past Java sea area. Specifically:

In 1981, about 580 people were killed when the Indonesian Tamponas II passenger ship caught fire and sank in the area.

In December 2006, a ferry was broken and sunk in the Java Sea when an unfortunate storm hit. About 400 people were killed by the accident.

On January 1, 2007, a Boeing 737-400 of Adam Air lost contact with air traffic control while flying in the Java Sea. It is known that the aircraft carrying 102 passengers, mostly Indonesians on a journey from Surabaya to Manado, suddenly went missing.

Parts of the aircraft were found 10 days later at the offshore coast, west of Sulawesi. According to experts, because the pilot accidentally interrupted the system to connect the autopilot system while trying to fix the navigation problem, this happened.

In May 2009, a tourist ferry caught fire on the Java sea area. Thankfully, about 350 passengers were rescued by a cargo ship passing by.

Image of US USS Houston cruiser

The Java Sea is a burial place for the "phantom ghost" - the USS Houston cruiser during World War II. In August, US Navy divers officially confirmed the wreck in the Java Sea, Indonesia was the US cruiser USS Houston sunk by Japanese troops in 1942 as 700 sailors and marines. US killed.

Not only that, it is also the "burial" place of the Indono when it sank in 1955.