The aircraft took off from Jakarta on 29 October 2018 at 6:20 a.m. local time (28 October 2018, 11:20 p.m. UTC) and was scheduled to arrive at Depati Amir Airport in Pangkal Pinang at 7:20 a.m. It took off in a westward direction before circling around to a northeast heading, which it held until crashing offshore northeast of Jakarta in waters estimated to be up to 35 meters deep.