Military Pulls Out of AirAsia 8501 Recovery Effort

Jakarta Globe, Jan 27, 2015

The Indonesian Military (TNI) said on Tuesday that it plans to end its participation
 in AirAsia Flight QZ8501 recovery operations, a day after its attempt to raise the
 downed plane’s fuselage from the bottom of the Java Sea failed. The civilian search
 and rescue agency (Basarnas) said it may continue its efforts, which will be limited
without the Navy’s help. (AFP Photo/Adek Berry)

Pangkalan Bun, Central Kalimantan. Indonesia’s military on Tuesday halted search and recovery efforts for an AirAsia passenger jet that crashed last month killing all 162 people on board, navy officials said.

“The operation has been ongoing for 30 days so the joint team has been pulled out,” Rear Adm. Widodo, head of the navy’s western fleet, told reporters. “We apologize to the families of the victims. We tried our best to look for the missing victims.”

The Airbus A320-200 vanished from radar screens on Dec. 28, less than half way into a two-hour flight from Surabaya to Singapore. There were no survivors. Seventy bodies have been recovered.

The flight recorders have also been retrieved and are being analyzed. Days of rough weather and poor visibility have hampered navy divers’ efforts to find more bodies and recover the fuselage of the plane. Widodo said no more victims had been found by divers involved in the search for the past two days.

Since Saturday, salvage teams have been using giant inflatable bags to try to raise the fuselage of the Airbus A320-200, which is lying in the sea at a depth of around 30 meters. At one point, they managed to lift the main body to the surface for two minutes before a sling holding it snapped.

Video showing images of the fuselage dragging against the military recovery boat’s deck, then ripping and tumbling back to the bottom of the sea, raised concern among observers that vital clues about what caused the crash may have been destroyed in the failed attempt to raise the fuselage.

The civilian National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) said on Tuesday it may press on with the search for bodies. But its efforts will be hampered by the loss of the military’s large vessels and heavy recovery equipment.

“Perhaps we will do regular operations with help from fishermen and communities near the coast to find other victims,” said Tatang Zaenuddin, Basarnas’s deputy of operations. The agency will hold a news conference on Wednesday.

Imam Sampurno, who lost four family members on Flight QZ8501, none of whom has been found, said he was resigned to their fate. “We can only hope they will continue to search, but if it’s stopped there is nothing I can do about it. I am resigned to it,” he said.

Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) will submit its initial findings on the crash this week to the International Civil Aviation Organization. The preliminary report, which the ICAO requires within 30 days of an accident, will include “information on the plane, the number of passengers and other information like that,” NTSC investigator Suryanto said.

But it  will not include analysis from the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder, both of which were recovered by divers from the bottom of the Java Sea.

Data from radar and the aircraft’s two “black box” flight recorders will provide investigators with a clearer picture of what occurred during the final minutes of the flight. But investigators say they have yet to start their analysis, as they have been compiling other data for the inquiry.

Transport Minister Ignasius Jonan told a parliamentary hearing last week that, based on radar data, the plane had climbed faster than normal in its final minutes, and then stalled. Investigators have found no evidence of foul play.

The NTSC will hold an annual media conference this week on its work over the past year but it is not expected to discuss details of its investigation of the AirAsia crash, NTSC head Tatang Kurniadi said.  The final report on the crash, which will be made public, must be filed within a year.

Former Garuda Indonesia captain Shadrach M. Nababan, said that based on the crashed plane’s logbook data, the Airbus A320-200 serving AirAsia flight QZ8501 had experienced problems with its auto rudder trim limiter as many as nine times in 2014, as reported by Tempo.co. Three days before crashing on December 25, 2014, flight QZ8501 was forced to “return to apron” twice, according to Shadrach, although it is not clear if the reason for the plane’s forced return was related to rudder trim trouble.

Reuters & AFP

AirAsia, Indonesia and Effective Crisis Management

Jakarta Globe, Bloomberg, Dec 31, 2014

President Joko Widodo on board a Hercules plane taking part in the
search for AirAsia Flight QZ8501, on Tuesday.(Antara Photo/Andika Wahyu)

In his run for president this year, Joko Widodo pledged to bring greater openness and accountability to Indonesia. As his administration faces its first international crisis, the mysterious crash of an AirAsia jet, he’s proving to be a man of his word.

You can tell a lot about a nation from its response to great tragedy, whether it’s Japan’s 2011 Fukushima crisis, Malaysia’s lost Boeing 777 in March or South Korea’s deadly ferry accident in April. So far, Joko has performed admirably.

Since news broke on Sunday that an Airbus A320 flying from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore vanished with 162 people on board, Joko has coordinated search-and-rescue efforts, demanded a review of air safety regulations and called on weather agencies to provide timelier information. His government is giving steady updates, and Joko has sought help from Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Australia and, remarkably, China and the US in finding Flight QZ8501.

In contrast, last spring, Malaysia was widely criticized for the secrecy and paranoia that surrounded its search for a Malaysia Airlines flight that disappeared with 239 people aboard. Welcoming US and Chinese military ships into Indonesia’s orbit speaks to Joko’s confidence as a leader.

Let’s hope this is a harbinger of future competence. Joko is the fifth president since dictator Suharto was ousted in 1998 but the first true political outsider to run Southeast Asia’s biggest economy. Because he’s not a member of a dynastic family or the military, he isn’t beholden to vested interests looking to siphon the benefits of Indonesia’s 5 percent growth. That gives him latitude to dismantle the kleptocracy that Suharto built during his 32-year reign and raise Indonesia’s competitiveness.

As governor of Jakarta, starting in 2012, Joko brought a surprising level of transparency. He moved budget procurement and tax collection processes online. He’s now working to make national government services electronic to reduce opportunities for graft and improve efficiency. Opening up the process of granting licenses for developing infrastructure, mines and plantations alone would do much to clean up the nation’s political and business climate.

Indonesia’s aviation industry also has long cried out for greater oversight. Its carriers, air traffic controllers and the skies around the archipelago of 250 million people are notorious for their regulatory laxity. As recently as 2009, state carrier Garuda was banned from European Union airspace. That laxity is a product of decades of cronyism and institutional neglect.

While Joko’s predecessor Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono made inroads against graft, Indonesia’s still ranks behind Djibouti and Argentina and a sober 22 rungs below India in Transparency International’s latest corruption perceptions index. The daylight Joko wants to shine on the government is needed to attract more foreign investment and ensure that scarce revenues are spent on education, health care and poverty programs.

The openness and assertiveness with which Joko has responded to Flight QZ8501 gives me reason to hope that Indonesia will be prepared for whatever comes its way.

William Pesek is a Bloomberg View columnist based in Tokyo and writes on economics, markets and politics throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

President Joko Widodo, center, talks to the head of Indonesia’s national search
 and rescue agency, Soelistyo, left, and Chief of the Sea Security Coordinating
 Agency, Vice Admiral Desi Albert Mamahit, right, shortly before a news conference
 about missing Indonesia AirAsia flight QZ 8501 in Jakarta, on Dec. 29, 2014.
 (EPA Photo/Bagus Indahono)

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Bodies Retrieved in AirAsia Search, Extensive Recovery Operation Set for Wednesday

Jakarta Globe, Basten Gokkon, Dec 31, 2014

Jakarta. The search for the missing Indonesia AirAsia plane carrying 162 people appeared to be over on Tuesday evening after rescuers pulled bodies and debris from the sea off the coast of Kalimantan.

The Indonesian Navy confirmed that more than 40 bodies had been pulled from the sea as dusk fell, and authorities will continue with an extensive recovery operation on Wednesday.

The military chief, Gen. Moeldoko, refused, though, to confirm the Navy’s comments about the bodies and said all statements about the number of bodies recovered would have to go through Indonesia’s National Search and Rescue Agency, or Basarnas, which is coordinating the search efforts.

Basarnas chief Bambang Soelistyo said at a press conference that six bodies were found and three had been retrieved as well as some of the debris from the water and all of those were brought to the Central Kalimantan town of Pangkalan Bun.

“We’ve been able to verify that three of the bodies are those of two women and one man,” he said at the agency’s headquarters in Jakarta.

Items resembling an emergency slide, plane door and other objects were spotted in the sea during an aerial search for Flight QZ8501 about midday.

Basarnas confirmed with certainty that the items spotted during an aerial search was debris from the plane.

“Today we can confirm 100 percent that the debris and bodies are from the plane that we have been looking for,” Soelistyo said.

The breakthrough came more than 48 hours after the plane disappeared over the Java Sea en route from Surabaya to Singapore.

There were 155 passengers on board, including 149 Indonesians, three South Koreans, one Singaporean, one Malaysian and one Briton. The seven-member crew consisted of six Indonesians and the French co-pilot.

A number of vessels were on their way to the waters of the Karimata Strait, some 160 kilometers from Pangkalan Bun, to collect the debris on Tuesday.

The navy later confirmed a large part of the missing Airbus A320-200 was also found 62 kilometers from the area where debris was first spotted.

“We have found some more debris and the cargo hold, which is still 65 percent intact,” 1st Lt. Galang told news portal Detik.com.

(JG & Beritasatu.com Graphics/Nadia Tammu & Danung Arifin)

An extensive search

President Joko Widodo spoke at a press conference at Juanda International Airport in Surabaya at around 7 p.m. to express his condolences to family members of the passengers and crew of the flight, adding that an extensive search will be conducted on Wednesday.

“Tomorrow morning, there will be a huge search operation by using aircraft and vessels,” Joko said. “I’ve instructed the National Search and Rescue Agency to make a joint operation to find the body of the airplane and also passengers and flight crew. I’ve instructed them to focus on retrieving the passengers and flight crew.

“I also want to thank and give my highest appreciation to the National Search and Rescue Agency, the Indonesian Armed Forces, the National Police, the volunteers and also the fishermen who have helped in the search of the airplane, the passengers and flight crew.

“I also want to thank the neighboring countries who have joined in in the search — from Singapore, Malaysia and Australia,” he said.

“For the families of the passengers and flight crew, I’m also at a loss from this incident and I’m sending my prayers to the families so that they can find the strength to get through this misfortune,” Joko said.

AirAsia Group chief executive Tony Fernandes was also present at the press conference, saying that he hoped that the flight recorder box will be recovered as part of the investigation as to why the aircraft went down into the sea. He defended the captain’s experience and the performance of the aircraft but accepted responsibility as leader of the company.

“You don’t know what went wrong,” Fernandes said. “This is a scar that will be with me for the rest of my life.”

He offered his condolences to the family members of the passengers and crew, adding that the focus would be on the recovery of remains and the aircraft.

“Words can’t express what they’re going through, but I’ve talked to the families with my limited bahasa Indonesia,” Fernandes said.

Compensation will be given to the families, he said, but he will wait for an investigation on the cause of the aircraft’s accident.

“We’ll keep investigating what went wrong during the accident,” he said.

A crew member on an Indonesian Maritime Surveillance looks out the window
during a search for Indonesia AirAsia’s flight QZ8501, north of Bangka island
on Dec. 30, 2014. (Reuters Photo/Darren Whiteside)

‘Be strong’

Soelistyo  of Basarnas said in an interview with Metro TV at around 8:30 p.m. that the extensive search will commence at 6 a.m. on Wednesday and will include 47 divers to the nine who are already stationed at Pangkalan Bun. The nine divers were supposed to help in the search on Tuesday but were held back because of bad weather, he said.

Soelistyo  had told reporters earlier in the day that a “shadow” on the seabed spotted by an Air Force plane was believed to be the missing AirAsia jet.

“On information regarding shadows on the seabed, we received that information from one of our units. We will investigate based on the information and find out whether it’s the airplane or another object. I will deploy vessels that have sonar systems to investigate it,” Soelistyo told Metro TV.

Relatives of the 155 passengers and seven crew members burst into tears and hugged each other after footage of a body was broadcast during the Basarnas press conference on Tuesday afternoon.

Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini comforted relatives at the airport and told them “to be strong.”

About 30 ships and 21 aircraft from Indonesia, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and the United States have been involved in the search of up to 10,000 square nautical miles.

The plane, which did not issue a distress signal, disappeared after its pilot failed to get permission to fly higher to avoid bad weather because of heavy air traffic, officials said.

The flight was led by Capt. Irianto, who had a total of 6,100 flying hours under his belt. His first officer had clocked in 2,275 flying hours.

Air traffic controllers lost contact with the plane about 45 minutes after it left Surabaya’s Juanda International Airport at 5:36 a.m. on Sunday.

AirAsia Indonesia said in a statement that its employees have been sent to the site and will cooperate fully with Indonesian authorities.

The airline said it would invite victims’ families to Surabaya and where a team of dedicated carers would be assigned to each family. Counselors and “religious and spiritual personnel” had also been invited, the company said.

Sunu Widyatmoko, chief executive of Indonesia AirAsia, said the company would like to extend its sincerest sympathies to the family and friends of those on board the flight.

Additional reporting from AFP & Reuters

Jokowi: An extensive search on #QZ8501 will be conducted on Wednesday

Indonesia's KNKT Blames Human Error for Sukhoi Crash That Killed 45

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.”

JG/BeritaSatu

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50 train accidents in 2010: Safety commission

Nani Afrida, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 12/28/2010

The National Transportation Safety Commission (KNKT) on Tuesday announced that there had been 50 train accidents in Indonesia this year, down from the 82 cases in 2009.

“In 2010,train accidents killed 60 people and injured 189,” KNKT chairman Tatang Kurniadi said in Jakarta, adding that technical matters were the main causes of the accidents.

Of the 50 cases, KNKT had only investigated ten, which were classified as severe accidents, Tatang said.

“For these cases we issued 11 recommendations to the directorate general of trains at the Transportation Ministry and to state railway company PT KA.” He said.

Antonov crashes into Twin Otter at Sentani airport

Antara News, Thursday, December 2, 2010 20:54 WIB

Sentani, Jayapura (ANTARA News) - An Antonov 26 airplane belonging to State Logistics Agency (Bulog) crashed into a Twin Otter DCH 6 of Trigana Airlines at 8.15 am Eastern Indonesian time on Thursday at the Sentani airport`s runway.

In the collision, two propellers of the Twin Otter plane were broken but nobody was hurt, according to Bustomi, area manager of Trigana Air at Sentani airport.

Due to the incident, the Trigana Air flight from Sentani to Dekai in Yahokimo district was canceled and so were flights of several other airlines.

Bustomi said the Twin Otter was in a parked position when it was hit by the Anonov piloted by a foreigner named Olaks Toghy. After the collission, the Antonoc returned to its parking lot.

"We are not yet sure what caused the incident but the National Committee for Transportation Safety (KNKT) has temporarily barred the two airplanes from flying," he said.

Trigana Air was now waiting for the arrival of a National Committee for Transportation Safety (KNKT) team from Jakarta that would conduct an investigation to determine the main cause of the incident.

Due to the incident, flights of other airlines serving routes in Papua were suspended to the disappointment of many locals preparing to meet their needs ahead of the 2010 Christmas holidays.

Bustomi said the grounding of Trigana Air`s Twin Otter would mean a great fianancial loss to the company although it was all cobered by insurance.

"Based on a rough calculation, the plane can fly up to six hours a day and thereby generate an income of 200 US dollars per hour," he said.

The Antonov 26 plane which was chartered by Manunggal Air for cargo shipment to Wamena in Jaya WIjaya district also stood to suffer a financial loss due to the incident.

Panic, Anger as Lion Air Plane Overshoots Runway in Indonesia

Jakarta Globe, November 02, 2010

A Lion Air plane, similar to this one, carrying 175 passengers and crew skidded off the runway at Supadio Airport in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, on Tuesday. There was widespread panic but no injuries. Lion Air is defending its handling of the near disaster, despite numerous complaints against the Indonesian carrier. (Antara Photo)

Sungai Raya, West Kalimantan. A Lion Air passenger plane overshot the runway at Supadio Airport in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, and landed in a field onTuesday. There are no reports of injuries.

The Boeing 737/400, flight number JT 712 from Jakarta to Pontianak, was carrying 169 passengers and 6 crew.

A passenger identified as Tomi told state news agency Antara the plane shook three times 15minutes before landing, though the passengers did not suspect anything was awry because the cabin crew made no announcements.

“We thought it’s only because of the bad weather,” Tomi said. “We began to worry when the plane touched down on the runway. I saw from the window that the plane was not stable.”

Another passenger, Priosuprantono, said the plane shook hard before it came to a halt in the middle of field at the end of the runway at 11:25 a.m.

“When the plane stopped, the passengers panicked. We were afraid that worse things would happen. Still, none of the flight attendants or the captain said anything,” hesaid.

The frightened passengers were not able to escape from the aircraft because none ofthe doors were opened, he said, adding that they were finally able to get out of the aircraft when a passenger opened an emergency exit.

“Some of us jumped off the plane in panic,” Prio said.

Indra Rosadi, also on board the flight, said the passengers were evacuated by military personnel stationed at the airport.

“We landed in the middle of a field, 20 meters from the runway,” Indra said.

The National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) confirmed the accident, saying bad weather was likely not a factor. “You can’t blame the weather or the rain,”KNKT official Masruri said.

Edward Sirait, a spokesman for Lion Air, told the Jakarta Globe that there was no announcement prior to the landing because the “fasten seatbelt” warning had been activated.

He described the landing as “normal” but for unknown reasons the plane could not stop.

Asked about the reported lack of information relayed to passengers after the crash landing, he said he could not comment.

“Emergency exits can be opened by passengers, not only by flight attendants. That is why we don’t allow children or physically unfit passengers to sit near the emergency exits.”

The plane had a good maintenance record, he added.

He said he did not believe the incident was related to the Mount Merapi eruption in central Java.

The KNKT is investigating the accident, the latest to hit the Indonesian airline industry.

Antara/JG

Special team assigned to probe plane crash in Bandung

Antara News, Friday, September 24, 2010 15:19 WIB

Bandung,West Java (ANTARA News) - The National Committee for Transportation Safety(KNKT) has assigned a team to investigate the plane crash that happened duringthe Bandung Airshow (BAS) at Husein Sastranegara airport on Friday.

Fortunately,the happening did not disrupt the airport`s flight schedules or the program ofBAS ITSELS, the commander of the Husein Sastranegara air base, Col Asep Dadang,said.

"Thesituation in the airport has turned to normal," Asep said here on Friday.

A Cessnaaircraft crashed while flying low over the Bandung Air Show 2010 arena hereFriday at around 10.15 am local time.

Dark andthick smoke billowed from the ill-fated plane as it hit the ground at theairport where the show is being held.

The fateof the pilot was still unknown. Evacuation cars were still on standby near thescene of the accident.

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.”

Airport Security Under Fire After Plane Hits Motorcycle

Jakarta Globe, Putri Prameshwari, April 20, 2010

Aviation investigators have started looking into a runway accident that killed two people on Monday after an aircraft collided with a motorcycle at an airfield in Tangerang.

National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) spokesman JA Barata said a team of five investigators had been sent to Curug, Tangerang, on the outskirts of Jakarta, where two people on a motor cycle were killed when they were hit by a training plane coming in to land at Budiarto Airport.

“We’ve sent a team to the scene, headed by lead investigator Toos Sanityoso,” he said. “This is a serious accident.”

Two men, identified as Azumar, 24, and Yopie Hermawan, 16, a student at Bhakti Vocational Senior High School, were killed on impact at about 8:30 a.m. after illegally entering the grounds of the airport, used by the Indonesian Aviation Institute (STPI), in an apparent attempt to take a shortcut across the runway.

Coincidentally, the men crossed the runway at the same time a single-engine Socata TB-10 Tobago training aircraft was landing. The two people aboard the plane were also seriously injured in the accident. They were taken to Siloam Hospital in Karawaci for treatment after the unusual accident.

“It’s illegal for motorcycles to be on the runway,” said STPI chairman Darwis Amini.

He added that management of Budiarto Airport was not the responsibility of the flight school, and lambasted the lax security measures that had failed to keep unauthorized people out of the restricted zone.

Ministry of Transportation spokesman Bambang Ervan said it was not unusual for motor cyclists to use the runway as a shortcut, despite it being illegal.

“There are wire fences and gutters installed all around the airport,” he said, “but people still manage to find ways to break in.”

He said the airport’s operator, working under the auspices of the ministry, was unable to maintain around-the-clock monitoring of every airport in the country.

“Tight monitoring 24 hours a day, day in and day out, is impossible,” he said. “There’s just not enough people to carry it out.”

Danang Parikesit, chairman of the Indonesian Transportation Society (MTI), an industry watchdog, called the accident “an indication of poor airport security.”

He said all airports must strictly enforce their no-trespass zones, even if they only served as training airports.

“While universal transportation safety would be ideal, airports are expected to have much higher security standards than other transportation hubs,” Da nang said, adding that the airport operator must be held responsible for Monday’s breach.

He called on the Transportation Ministry to re-evaluate its policies on airport security, saying that the accident should never have happened.

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Garuda Indonesia Crash Pilot Freed on Appeal ‘For Lack of Proof’

The Jakarta Globe

Yogyakarta. An appeals court has overturned a criminal conviction against a Garuda Indonesia pilot who captained a plane that crashed in 2007, killing 21 people, a court official said on Friday.

The Yogyakarta High Court ruled that the charges against pilot Marwoto Komar should be dropped due to a lack of evidence, said Suratno, the spokesman of the Sleman District Court, which heard the original case. He said his office was “just waiting for the official letter.”

Marwoto’s lawyer, Muchtar Zuhdy, said the High Court had reached the verdict in September, but a copy of it was only just received.

The pilot was sentenced to two years in jail by the Yogyakarta district court in April this year after he was found guilty of negligence.

A National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) investigation found that Marwoto had ignored a series of warnings upon landing, but according to the aviation law its findings could not be used in court.

The ill-fated Boeing 737 was carrying 140 passengers from Jakarta in March 2007 to Yogyakarta’s Adisucipto Airport, where it landed at high speed and hit an embankment at the end of the runway before catching fire.

Five Australian diplomats and journalists who were covering a visit by then-Foreign Minister Alexander Downer were among the fatalities.

Marwoto’s conviction sparked controversy in Indonesia as it was the first time a pilot had been brought up on criminal charges over an accident. A group of pilots, aviation engineers and air traffic controllers threatened to go on strike in April, fearing their jobs might be at stake following Marwoto’s guilty verdict.

Adrie Gunawan, the chairman of the Indonesia Air Traffic Controllers Association (IATCA), said in March that 26 air traffic controllers in Indonesia had taken leave to find jobs in other countries since they felt vulnerable to prosecution here.

Manotar Napitupulu, president of the Indonesian Pilots Association, welcomed the appeals court ruling, saying Marwoto should not have been put on trial in the first place.

“This shows that the justice system has finally understood that Marwoto’s case did not belong in court,” he said.

Manotar argued that pilots should be tried separately by the Civil Servant Investigators office and by the ethics council. “However, I thank the court for respecting Marwoto’s rights as a pilot,” he said.

A new law has since mandated the establishment of an aviation professionals council, with its main task monitoring and evaluating air transport workers.

The council will be composed of officials from the Transportation Ministry, civil aviation experts, the KNKT and the police.

Garuda Flight Makes Emergency Landing With Loose Wheel

The Jakarta Globe, Putri Prameshwari

A Garuda Indonesia plane lands at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. (File Photo: Dimas Ardian, Bloomberg News)

A Garuda Indonesia jetliner made an emergency landing at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Friday after one of its wheels became loose, officials said. No passengers were hurt.

Pujobroto, Garuda’s Corporate Secretary, said a Boeing 737-300 had to return to Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport 15 minutes after it took off for Aceh after the problem occurred with one of the left wheels.

“The plane’s Captain Johnny Siregar felt the wheel was off,” he said, “and according to the procedure, he had to return to base.”

The plane then circled in the area of the airport for about an hour to burn fuel before landing safely.

Flight GA-142 took off at 8:14 a.m. carrying 49 passengers, Pujobroto said. “All passengers were transferred to the next flight at 11,” he added.

Bambang Ervan, a spokesman for the transportation ministry, said an inspector from the ministry’s airworthiness department had been deployed to check the jet’s condition.

“The plane is grounded until maintenance and repairs are finished,” Bambang said.

J.A. Barata from the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) said he had sent two investigators to probe the incident.

“We will check whether it was caused by a mechanical problem or not,” he said.

Ministry in talks over Lion Air accident

The Jakarta Post, Tangerang | Mon, 03/09/2009 9:21 PM  

The Transportation Ministry was discussing with the National Transportation Safety Committe (KNKT) over Boeing 737-900's skidding at the Soekarno-Hatta airport in Tangerang on Monday. 

According to state news agency Antara, the Director General of the Air Transport Herry Bhakti was leading the closed meeting that was also attended by representatives from Lion Air and officers from the airport. 

“We hold the meeting to find the causes of the accident,” head of the airport administrator office EA Silooy said. 

Previously, the KNKT's chairman Tatang Kurniadi said that the committee had categorized the skidding as an accident following structural damages of the airplane. 

“The KNKT have dispatched four investigators --- Frans Wenas, Tumenggung, Nurcahyo and Sulaiman --- to collect data and do some preliminary investigations to the location,” he said. 

The jetliner took off from Makassar of South Sulawesi at 2:30 p.m, at local time with 168 passengers on board landed in bad weather marked by heavy rain. (ewd)

EU Certification Hangs In Balance for Airlines

The Jakarta Globe, Janeman Latul & Putri Prameswhari, February 26, 2009 

On the same day that the European Union’s audit team arrived in Indonesia to assess the safety of the country’s accident-riddled aviation sector, the possibility of gaining certification to fly to Europe was again thrown into doubt when a 12-year-old Lion Air MD-90 crash-landed in Batam, Riau Islands Province, on Monday without its front landing gear. 

Another safety incident involving a Lion Air flight occurred on the same day that inspectors arrived from the European Union to assess Indonesia's poor aviation track record. (Photo: Antara)

Nobody was hurt in the incident, but coming as it did during the audit team’s visit, it added another stain to the country’s troubled air safety record, which had been clean for 21 months. Aviation authorities are hoping the ban will be lifted in March. 

The country’s case was hardly helped by Budi Suyitno, the director general of air transportation, who spoke with the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday. “It is an old plane that could have hidden defects which inspectors couldn’t identify,” Budi said. 

“The older the plane, the more the problems. The risk is always there and for the Lion Air incident, the problem was that one of the levers for the wheel hatch was broken, which caused the plane’s forward landing gear to stick.” The landing gear lever, he said, “is at a place where it is difficult to find by the inspectors.” 

“It is impossible to find that kind of problem in the ground inspection,” he said. 

Indonesia has one of the world’s worst air safety records. The March 2007 crash that led the EU to impose the ban four months later occurred when a Garuda Indonesia Boeing 737 with 140 people aboard burst into flames after overshooting the runway at Yogyakarta’s Adisucipto International Airport, leaving 21 people dead. The pilot is now on trial for criminal negligence. 

That crash was preceded by one in which a Boeing 737, flown by the now-defunct Adam Air budget carrier, plunged into the sea on New Year’s Day of 2007, killing all 102 passengers and crew. The crashes, however, were regarded more as symptoms of a deeper problem. 

In the decade to 2007, the Aviation Safety Network recorded 48 air accidents in the country, traceable to old and badly maintained aircraft, outdated technology, poorly trained personnel, poor radar cover, noncompliance with air traffic regulations, bad management practices at airports and corruption. 

Since the imposition of the ban, the government has worked assiduously to correct the situation. It has increased the number of inspectors, introduced new and tighter regulations and increased supervision of safety and compliance, as well as created a ranking system to check the performance of the airlines. 

As an example of how far the country’s airlines have to go, however, an advertisement appeared in local publications congratulating the country’s fleet for going a year without a fatality . 

Budi said that although the government and the National Transportation Safety Committee, or KNKT, are currently investigating the incident in Batam, he is confident it won’t cause the EU to delay lifting the ban. “I don’t think they will be affected by the incident,” he said.

Lion Air Plane Lands Without Front Wheels

The Jakarta Globe, Dessy Sagita & Putri Prameshwari, February 25, 2009 

A Lion Air jetliner was forced to land without its front landing gear on Monday evening, transportation officials said, adding yet another stain on Indonesia’s troubled air safety record. 

The McDonnell Douglas 90 had flown from Medan, North Sumatra Province, and was approaching Hang Nadim Airport in Batam, Riau Islands Province, when pilots discovered that the plane’s forward landing gear was stuck, Bambang Ervan, chief spokesman for the Ministry of Transportation said on Tuesday. 

“The pilot decided to land, after an hour of flying around to empty the fuel tank,” he said, adding that the plane had been properly checked before taking off. 

The plane, under the registration sign PK-LIO, was carrying 156 passengers as well as cabin crew, and was piloted by Capt. Anwar Haryanto. Bambang said no one was killed in the accident, but nine people were taken to a hospital and treated for mental trauma suffered in the ordeal. 

JA Barata, spokesman for the government’s crash investigation body, the National Transportation Safety Committee, or KNKT, said three senior investigators were deployed to Batam on Tuesday. “They include KNKT Chief Tatang Kurniadi and his deputy, Franz Wenas,” Barata said. 

Edward Sirait, acting spokesman for Lion Air, said that the plane, built in 1996, was in good condition according to the official records, or log book. 

“It’s under our routine maintenance,” Edward said, adding that the jet had flown for a total of 20,000 hours. 

The KNKT team is still investigating the cause of the malfunction, however he declined to release any preliminary results. 

“We have to collect the facts and analyze everything including the maintenance data of the airline from every aspect. It’s too soon to conclude anything now,” he said. Tatang said the team did not prioritize to find the indication of human error. 

“Our principle is no blame, no liability. We’re looking for a flaw in the system instead of human or corporate error,” he said. 

Tatang said though the emergency landing of the Lion Air jetliner was classified as a serious incident, the event should not affect the European Commission’s plan to lift a 2007 ban on Indonesian airlines. “I don’t think the [EC] has accurate data to support their decision to issue a flight ban for Indonesian airlines,” he said.