Indonesian Aviation Officials to Take Second Look at Pertamina Fuel Quality After Damning Report

Jakarta Globe, Cameron Bates | August 16, 2010

A CathayPacific aircraft sits on the north runway of Hong Kong's international airportafter making an emergency landing on April 13, 2010. Five people were injuredafter the Cathay Pacific flight from Surabaya, Indonesia made an emergencylanding due to an engine failure, the government said. AFP PHOTO / MIKE CLARKE

Jakarta. Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee says it will reopen aninvestigation after allegations that a near air disaster involving a CathayPacific Airbus flight from Surabaya to Hong Kong may have been caused bycontaminated fuel supplied in Indonesia.

Tatang Kurniadi, chairman of the committee, known as the NTSC and the KNKT, told theJakarta Globe, however, that the preliminary accident bulletin by the Hong KongCivil Aviation Department only “represented the Hong Kong side” of the story.

Tatang noted that there had been no Indonesian aircraft that had similar sufferedproblems to those alleged in the Hong Kong report.

He said the results of its own investigation would determine whether or not itimplemented the findings contained in the initial accident report.

The report found that the Airbus A330 carrying 322 passengers and crew was forcedto make an emergency landing at Hong Kong in April due to contaminated fuelsupplied at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya, East Java.

One person was seriously injured during the landing, though a disaster was avoided.

The airline spokesman noted at the time that this was due to the professionalism ofthe pilots and cabin crew.

“The pilots and the 11 cabin crew all demonstrated professionalism of a highestorder in handling a most testing situation. It was due to their training,professionalism, their judgment, and ability to perform multi-tasks under ahighly intense situation that the injuries had been kept to a minimum.”

Juanda airport officials and state oil and gas company Pertamina, recently under fireamid allegations its government subsidized fuel for motor vehicles is belowaccepted standards, on Friday engaged in finger-pointing, with each sideclaiming they were not responsible.

The report, a copy of which has been obtained by the Globe, recommends that TheJuanda Surabaya Airport Development Taskforce “should, with suitably qualifiedpersonnel of aviation hydrant operation and re-commissioning experience,conduct an extensive review of the re-commissioning procedures of hydrantrefuel system in accordance with the best practise in aviation fuel industry.”

It says that the taskforce should ensure the re-commissioning procedures are completedbefore resuming hydrant refuelling operations at stands number one to 10.

A spokeswoman for Cathay Pacific said on Monday that the airline had suspended“fuel uplift from Surabaya” and had audited the fuel services available atJuanda.

“As aresult of the audit, our aircraft have been refuelled by alternative methods tothe one used on April 13, 2010.”