Jakarta Globe, Lona Olavia, Anselmus Bata & Eko Prasetyo, December 30, 2016
Jakarta.
The Ministry of Transportation has ordered firm action against the Citilink
pilot who allegedly arrived for work while drunk at Juanda International
Airport in Surabaya, East Java, on Wednesday (28/12). This follows after a
video of the incident went viral on social media.
The pilot
was caught on CCTV camera while passengers on Citilink Flight QC 800 from
Surabaya to Jakarta demanded that he should be replaced.
Bambang S.
Ervan, a spokesperson for the ministry's Directorate General of Air
Transportation , said the pilot, who has since been grounded, will be subjected
to a thorough health check.
The
ministry also instructed the airline management to take firm action against the
pilot.
"Harsh
sanctions will be imposed on the pilot if he violated health examination
requirements and systematic procedures," Bambang said in Jakarta on
Thursday evening.
Air
transportation director general Suprasetyo earlier ordered the pilot to undergo
another health examination despite the fact that the result of the initial test
at the airport clinic was negative for the presence of drugs or alcohol.
"The
pilot named Tekad Purna should undergo another medical checkup at the flight
health office today," Suprasetyo said in a written statement on Wednesday.
Suprasetyo
reiterated the government's zero-tolerance policy related to flight safety and
security, saying all potential issues should be prevented as early as possible.
However, he
also pointed out that the good name of the pilot should be restored if the
result of the second health check is negative.
Chronology
Report
The
management of Citilink has meanwhile submitted a chronology report to the air
transportation agency detailing the sequence of events. It is as follows:
05.09 a.m.:
Pilot arrives in the flops and directly enters the aircraft at stand 5A during
the boarding process. The pilot enters the cockpit and makes an announcement
over the aircraft's public address system in an unclear voice. This results in
complaints from passengers, who demand that the pilot must be replaced.
05.30 a.m.:
All passengers disembark from the aircraft. Citilink decides to replace the
pilot with Capt. Wahana Agus. All passengers board the plane except nine, who
had canceled their flights.
06.20 a.m.:
Flight QC 800 is pushed back to commence the flight to Halim Perdanakusuma
Airport in Jakarta.
06.35 a.m.:
Capt. Tekad is examined in the Graha Angkasa Pura I clinic by doctor Putu, with
a negative result for drugs and alcohol.
The airline
announced that Capt. Tekad Purna has been grounded until further notice.
Citilink chief executive Abert Burhan also said the airline management is
cooperating with the Transportation Ministry on further investigations.
"Citilink
does not tolerate any actions from pilots that violate flight procedures and
regulations and we are ready to impose further sanctions, including a possible
dismissal," Albert said on Thursday.
The results
of the second health examination on the pilot will be available next week.
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