How could a brand new plane crash?

How could a brand new plane crash?

Lion Air flight JT 610 has crashed into the sea, with nearly 190 people on board, shortly after taking off from the Indonesian capital, Jakarta

A lot of attention has focused on the fact the plane, a Boeing 737 MAX 8, was brand new. This is the first major incident involving that kind of plane

Details so far have been scant and the cause will not be confirmed until a full investigation has been carried out

Plane crashes are often the result of a combination of factors - both technical and human - but could the fact that the plane was so new have played any part

The plane associated with Monday's occurrence has just been in task since 15 August

It had logged only 800 hours of flight time, according to the head of the National Transportation Safety Commission, Soerjanto Tjahjano

The pilot is reported to have radioed air traffic control in Jakarta asking for permission to turn back, shortly after taking off

Lion Air's chief executive said the flight had suffered from an unspecified "technical problem" in a previous flight, but that it had been "resolved according to procedure", Reuters reports

Edward Sirait said Lion Air was currently operating 11 aircraft of the same model. He said there were no plans to ground the rest of the planes