Karnoyudho said much of the original information came from Hariyanto, who said he received the news from subordinates after they spoke to a village chief.

"Once he went to check for himself, he found it was not true," Karnoyudho said, referring to the local police chief.

Air force Rear Cmdr. Eddy Suyanto ¡ª among those who earlier confirmed the plane crashed in the mountainous Sulawesi region of Polewali ¡ª acknowledged the error late Tuesday and apologized.

But that provided little consolation to relatives awaiting news about the missing.

Some were camped out at the Adam Air counter at the Manado airport ¡ª the destination of the ill-fated plane ¡ª and others were in the southern Sulawesi city of Makassar, believed to be closer to where the plane went down.

"I don't understand how the authorities could be so heartless and spread rumors without thinking of the suffering of those waiting for news of their loved ones," said Ima Kulata, who was awaiting word about her cousin and two nieces.

"It's ridiculous," she said, crying after learning there may be no survivors after all. "How come they make such fools of us?"

Earlier Tuesday, some relatives collapsed when hearing reports about the high death toll. Others angrily banged on the door of the Adam Air office, demanding information.

Just over half of the Adam Air's flight path was over the Java Sea, the Maluku Sea and other smaller bodies of water, but most of the focus Tuesday was over land.

The accident followed weeks of seasonal rains and high winds in Indonesia that have caused deadly floods, landslides and half a dozen maritime accidents ¡ª including the sinking of a ferry in the Java Sea late Friday that killed or left missing about 400 people.

Adam Air is one of at least a dozen budget carriers that have emerged in the country since 1999, when the industry was deregulated. The rapid expansion has led to cheap flights to scores of destinations around the sprawling nation, but has raised some safety concerns, since maintenance on the leased planes is reportedly poor.

National aviation chief Ichsan Tatang said the plane involved in Monday's disaster was 17 years old, had flown 45,371 hours and passed its last inspection on Dec. 25.

"Everything was in order, the condition of the plane was good," he said, adding it was too early to speculate on the cause of the crash though it went down in severe weather.

In September 2005, a Mandala Airlines Boeing 737 crashed after takeoff on Sumatra, killing 143 people.

In September 1997, a Garuda Airlines Airbus crashed into a jungle-covered mountain slope in Sumatra, killing all 234 people aboard. Two months later, a Silk Air Boeing 737 jet crashed into a river on Sumatra, killing 104 people.

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