The Indonesian Ministry of Transportation has begun an audit of Lion Air (JT, Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta) and has also started impromptu checks of various other Indonesian carriers following the crash of one of the low-cost carrier's B737-8s on October 29.

A DJPU statement said the audit will include a review of Lion Air's operating procedures, flight crew qualifications, and institutional cooperation. The Indonesian government is also speeding up its checks of all airlines, airports, and navigational aids to check their airworthiness status. As of November 7, the DJPU has conducted in-situ ramp checks of aircraft that belong to Lion Air, Garuda Indonesia, Batik Air, Sriwijaya Air, NAM Air, Wings Air (Indonesia), and Indonesia AirAsia.

"Four days into the review, we have inspected aircraft belonging to seven national airlines and six types of aircraft namely B737-300s, -500s, -800s, -900s, B737 MAX 8s, ATR72-500/600s, and A320-200s. So far, all the results are good and all are airworthy," Director of Aircraft Airworthiness and Operations, Captain Avirianto, said in a statement.

Separately, Boeing has issued an Operations Service Bulletin to all B737 MAX 8 operators to warn pilots of the procedures to be taken in the event angle of attack sensors generate erroneous indications. So far, no unscheduled fleet-wide checks have been mandated.

Based on the preliminary data recovered from the wreckage of PK-LQP (msn 43000), the DJPU said that the aircraft's airspeed indicator malfunctioned during four flights prior to the doomed flight JT610 from Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta to Pangkalpinang.

All 181 passengers and eight crew members on board the aircraft died after it crashed into the Java Sea shortly after takeoff from Jakarta.

Given the situation's fluid nature, Lion Air Group Managing Director Daniel Putut told local media on Monday, November 5, that talks with Boeing over a new order for fifty B737-10s have now been suspended pending the outcome from the Ministry's review.

“We are awaiting the Ministry’s audit, we will comply if the government requests us to reschedule our plans,” he told Tempo.

Prior to the accident, Daniel said that Lion Air had held daily meetings with Boeing representatives in Indonesia and said that several announcements will be made in due course all of which is based on these meetings.

“The discussions are not complete, we will conclude the points of discussion later,” he added.