There are many conflicting reports of just exactly what the weather and visibility was like, at the time, or just before the crash. The chief of the Ngurah Rai Airport's weather station is on record as stating that visibility was 6 miles and there was "no rain".
He might have been stating that he could
see no rain. Other reports state that there were some TS clouds at 1700 feet, and a lot of low cloud beyond the 6 miles visibility range.
One has to ask, at a tourist location, in mid-afternoon, with large numbers of people about in public, why no-one actually
sighted the jet going down - or even hitting the water?
The surfer who was in the water at the time of the crash, and who paddled out to rescue pax - has stated he never saw the aircraft go down - but he heard a huge splash, and he encountered a sudden large wave - which was the wave generated by the ditching.
This surely has to indicate that the aircraft ditched in low cloud - thus the lack of sightings of the aircraft ditching, by people on the ground?
Leaving out the obvious journalistic BS and the pax's errors in their statements, we have left, only the European pax's statement about heavy rain, and the PIC's statement that he intended to do a GA, but lost altitude so rapidly he was unable to carry out his intended action.
Exclusive: Lion Air crash pilot felt jet "dragged" from sky
'Extraordinary phenomenon hit Lion Air jet' | News.com.au