The Jakarta Globe, Nivell Rayda, March 9, 2009
A Lion Air airplane flying from Makassar, South Sulawesi Province, skidded off the runway at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Monday, but no passengers were injured during the terrifying ordeal. It was the latest in a string of incidents within the country’s troubled aviation industry.
Heavy rain which showered the Greater Jakarta area had caused the runway to become slippery, and at around 3:30 p.m. as the MD-90 aircraft was landing, it skidded across the runway, going into a 180-degree spin before eventually stopping tail first in an open field.
Rescue workers immediately evacuated all 166 passengers and crew on board. Although traumatized by the ordeal, no one was hurt.
“The heavy rain and a sudden gust of wind may have caused the plane to skid but we are still waiting for an official report from airport officials,” Lion Air spokesman Edward Sirait said. “No one was hurt and damage to the plane was minimal.”
Sirait said that Lion Air has just recently purchased the airplane. The airline has been under criticism for buying old planes and using spare parts from planes that had crash-landed and were grounded.
Transportation Ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan, however, said the plane had suffered substantial damage.
“The skidding damaged the landing gear and there were some cracks on the left wing,” Bambang said, adding that because of the slippery surface the plane leaned to the left as the pilot, Capt. Ratiman, tried to brake.
The ministry spokesman also said that the heavy rains and strong winds had limited visibility to about 1,000 meters.
The airport’s operator PT Angkasa Pura II immediately closed the south runway until 12 a.m. today (Tuesday) to evacuate the plane and allow for further investigations.
“All flights are being diverted to the north runway,” Angkasa Pura II’s spokesman Trisno Heriyadi said adding that the incident had not caused disruptions to other flights entering and leaving the airport.
The National Transportation Safety Committee were at the scene but its officials could not be reached for comments.
Heavy rains were also to blame for a similar accident in Batam, Riau Province on Saturday. A small Fokker plane overshot the runway upon landing. None of the 50 passengers onboard were hurt.
Monday’s incident was the second Lion Air incident this year. On Feb. 24, a Lion Air McDonnell-Douglas 90, flying from North Sumatra, also crash-landed in Batam after the crew was unable to lower the nose gear.
Also on Feb. 24, a Batavia Air Boeing 737 carrying 125 passengers lost contact with air traffic controllers and navigation capability over Kalimantan and was forced to circle while the pilots tried to figure out where they were.
The two incidents came after a year free of civil flights accidents and they may influence the European Union to continue its ban on Indonesian airlines. The EU’s audit team’s visit to Indonesia to assess the country’s aviation safety coincided with the February incidents.
Those incidents may have also forced the Transportation Ministry to replace Budi Muliawan Suyitno as the director general of air transportation.
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