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| The latest Indonesian
air tragedy, the disappearance of an 18 year old, 45,371 hour, Adam Air
737-400 with 102 POB on New Years day, singles out how cut-throat competition,
weather and corruption combine to take many lives. Adam Air suffered an
embarrassing incident, Feb. 2006 a Boeing 737 lost communication, 1 hour
later it landed at Tambolaka, Sumba, several 100 km's off course. The pilot
asked for a replacement aircraft before departure, due to faulty avionics,
the request was refused. Since 2001 there have been 19 scheduled carriers
start up in Indonesia. The fleet of ageing planes operated by cash-strapped
carriers and supervised by corrupt officials has experienced 73 accidents
since 2001, a total of 479 victims, 201 dead and 278 injured. |
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Government Action
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| The Indonesian Government has reduced
aircraft age limits from 35 years to 20 years, and have introduced
spot safety checks at airports, however most Indonesian accidents are attributed
to pilot error rather than mechanical failure, as is the case world wide. |
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1997 Garuda Indonesia
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| Sep 26, 1997 a Garuda Airbus
300 from Jakarta was approaching Medan, the air traffic controller instructing
the aircraft to turn left, when he should have said right. The airplane
crashed into a wooded area with 234 fatalities. |
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2002 Garuda Indonesia
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| Jan 16, 2002, a Garuda Boeing
737-300, flight 421, both engines flamed out in an intense rainstorm approaching
Yogyakarta, they performed an emergency landing in the Solo River. Only
death was an air hostess who jumped from the aircraft before it landed. |
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2004 Lion Air
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| Nov 30, 2004, a Lion Air Boeing
737-200, 103 POB. The aeroplane failed to become airborne, the aircraft
overshot the end of the runway. The pilot had attempted to take-off without
flaps deployed. |
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2005 Mandela Airlines
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| Sep 5, 2005, a Jakarta-bound
Mandala Airlines Boeing 737-200 jetliner crashed into a heavily populated
residential area seconds after taking off from Medan, Many houses
and cars were destroyed, and 39 persons dead on the ground. At least 16
persons survived the accident, with 104 POB dead including 3 babies. The
aircraft was thought to be overloaded. A foul durian fruit smell enveloped
the crash site, it was later discovered that the overloading was due to
2 or 3 tonnes of durian fruit brought |
| by Sumatra Governor and ex-Governor
travelling on the flight intended as gifts to bring to Jakarta, and not
listed on the flight's load manifest. |
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Durian
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Conclusion
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| While everybody is understandably
complaining about the poor maintenance, it is interesting to note all of
the above accidents were due to weather, incompetence or pilot error. Few
tourists have been killed in Indonesian air accidents, in fact more tourists
have drowned at Kuta beach in the last 5 years. |
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