Air accident findings no good in court: Board<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Following last week's publication of the findings of the
\ninvestigation into an accident involving a Lion Air plane in
\nSurakarta, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said
\non Tuesday that the findings of its investigation could not be
\nused in court as evidence to support a lawsuit.<\/p>\n
\"Based on article 34 of the Air Navigation Law (No. 15\/1992),
\nour findings cannot be used to found a lawsuit,\" the board's
\nchairman Setio Rahardjo said during a media briefing here.<\/p>\n
Kamis Martono, a board member, added that its investigations
\nwere conducted for preventative purposes so as to help avoid the
\noccurrence of similar accidents.<\/p>\n
The two were commenting on a lawsuit brought by Lion Air
\nagainst airport operator PT Angkasa Pura 1 right after the board
\nannounced the results of its investigation into the accident
\ninvolving a Lion Air MD-82 aircraft at Adi Sumarmo International
\nAirport, Surakarta, which is managed by Angkasa Pura.<\/p>\n
The accident on Nov. 30, 2004, left 26 dead and 56 injured.<\/p>\n
Lion Air public relations officer Hasyim Arsal Alhabsi refused
\nto comment on Tuesday's statement by the NTSB. As for the airport
\noperator, it claimed it had not yet received the findings of an
\naudit of its airports, including Adi Sumarmo, by the Ministry of
\nTransportation and therefore had not taken any follow-up action
\nas yet.<\/p>\n
The Lion Air lawsuit is based on the NTSB's findings that
\nhydroplaning was the principal cause of the Surakarta accident,
\nin addition to other contributing factors such as a strong tail
\nwind, a malfunctioning spoiler and reverser on the place, and the
\npositioning of a concrete structure that worsened the accident.<\/p>\n
Setio explained that accumulations of water during heavy rain
\nthat could lead to hydroplaning could be overcome by improving
\nthe drainage system on airport runways. The NTSB recommended
\nregular assessments of runway friction and water levels as well
\nas the regular calibration of airport anemometers and windsocks.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, a separate Lion Air investigation revealed that the
\nreal wind speed at the time of the accident was 13 knots, not 8
\nknots as reported by the tower.<\/p>\n
PT Angkasa Pura I corporate secretary Matius Tristuo said that
\nair traffic control officers received 30-minute updated
\ninformation on wind speed and direction from the local
\nmeteorological agency.<\/p>\n
There has been a number of accidents involving planes skidding
\noff the runway recently in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Last Friday, a Mandala Airline Boeing 737-200 skidded off the
\nrunway at Ahmad Yani Airport in Semarang, Central Java, as it was
\nlanding during a heavy rain, prompting the temporary closure of
\nthe airport.(003)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/air-accident-findings-no-good-in-court-board-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}