Jakarta Globe, Ronna
Nirmala, December 18, 2012
 |
| Members of an Indonesian rescue team take a break as they search for the wreckage of a Russian Sukhoi aircraft near Bogor on May 10, 2012. (Reuters Photo) |
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Indonesian
investigators have blamed human error as the cause behind the Sukhoi SuperJet
plane crash, which killed all 45 people on board after it flew into a West Java
volcano in May.
Tatang
Kurniadi, chief of Indonesia's National Committee for Transportation Safety
(KNKT), said there were no technical problems with the plane. He said the
Russian crew's unfamiliarity with the mountains and the lack of a minimum safe
altitude warning system resulted in the crash into Mount Salak on May 9.
The pilot
allegedly failed to react to six warnings from the terrain awareness and
warning systems (TAWS) on board the plane — which creates an alert of any
possible terrain conflicts.
“The plane
crew were not aware of the mountainous condition, which led to them ignoring a
warning system [from the plane],” Tatang told a press conference in Jakarta on
Tuesday, as reported by Indonesian news portal republika.co.id.
Tatang
explained that the pilot was talking with a potential buyer on board the plane,
and thus failed to immediately shift the direction of the plane after it
released warnings from the TAWS.
KNKT also
highlighted the Sukhoi pilot’s failure to comply with minimum altitudes
approved in the instrument flight rules (IFR) for the flight and minimum safe
altitude (MSA) for the air traffic control (ATC) at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport
in East Jakarta — the place where the SuperJet took off.
The
investigators said the minimum off-route altitudes approved in the IFR was
13,200 feet, but the plane was flying at 10,000 feet.
The MSA's
minimum limit is 6,900 feet within 25 nautical miles (NM) from Halim, but the
ATC approved the Sukhoi pilot’s request to fly at 6,000 feet within the radius.
The plane
crashed into Mount Salak at 6,000 feet, 28 NM from the airport.
KNKT said
future demonstration flights should stick to the minimum altitudes approved in
the IFR and a flight manifest should be available at the base — the manifest
for the Sukhoi flight was on board the plane which initially caused confusion
over the death toll.
As for
Sukhoi, KNKT recommended the Russian aircraft manufacturer provide special
training for crew members before performing demonstration flights, especially
over mountainous terrains.
Last month,
Indonesia's Transportation Ministry validated a certificate for the Sukhoi
SuperJet 100 aircraft to be used as a passenger jet in Indonesia.
Sukhoi said
on its website, sukhoi.org, that the certification allowed it to deliver 12
SuperJet 100s to Indonesian airline Sky Aviation, its first Southeast Asia
customer, between 2012 and 2015. Sky Aviation agreed to purchase the 12 jets at
$380.4 million in June last year.
Sukhoi said
it was organizing training for Sky Aviation flight crews.
“Eight
pilot completed successfully the SSJ100 Type Rating training, 18 cabin
attendants will be trained by the end of December as 12 mechanics will complete
the courses in January 2013,” Sukhoi said.
“The first
delivery of the aircrafts are expected by the end of this year after
finalization of all the formalities.”
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