CN-235 plane crash caused by human error: Team<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A military investigation team has found that the
\nrecent crash of a locally built aircraft was caused by human
\nerror and that there was nothing wrong with the airplane.<\/p>\n
The chief of the Ministry of Defense and Security's team, Lt.
\nCol. Syarki Puteh, said there was no indication that the military
\nversion of the CN-235 aircraft had developed any trouble before
\ncrashing.<\/p>\n
The plane, built by state-owned IPTN, crashed while conducting
\na test to parachute-drop a four-ton cargo at Gorda Serang airbase
\nin West Java on May 22. All six people, including an American
\ninstructor, aboard the airplane died in the crash.<\/p>\n
\"The rope which was connected to a parachute and was supposed
\nto hold the cargo, broke suddenly when the pilot was about to
\ndrop it,\" Syarki said.<\/p>\n
He said the situation deteriorated when the pilot failed to
\ndrop the cargo although he had brought the plane upright.<\/p>\n
\"Normally, the cargo will drop if the airplane is in an upward
\nposition. But in the incident, the cargo could not drop because
\nthe exit was blocked by the anchor,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He said the cargo's movement was also hindered because it was
\njammed on a side rail.<\/p>\n
When asked who was most responsible for the accident, Syarki
\nsaid it was the American instructor William Denton, who was on
\nthe test flight.<\/p>\n
Denton, who knew the specifications of each rope used in the
\ntest, used a rope which was too weak to hold the parachute.<\/p>\n
The Defense Ministry's director general for facility and
\nservices, Maj. Gen. (ret) I Made Sadha, said the accident would
\nnot affect the Armed Forces' plan to spend US$300 million to buy
\nseveral of the CN-125 military version of the aircraft.<\/p>\n
Sadha refused to say how many aircraft the military was
\nplanning to buy.<\/p>\n
\"The accident has not dented our trust in the CN-235
\naircraft,\" he told a press conference packed with local and
\nforeign journalists.<\/p>\n
IPTN is determined to take part in the prestigious Paris Air
\nShow that will open Saturday. It will display the Gatotkoco, the
\nN-250 prototype, and a CN-235 MPA (Maritime Patrol Aircraft).<\/p>\n
In a related development, IPTN's lawyers said yesterday they
\nwould go ahead with their plan to sue The Jakarta Post over its
\nreport on the accident, unless the daily agreed to meet its
\nthree-point demand for an out-of-court settlement.<\/p>\n
The Post, quoting a source at IPTN, had reported that fire was
\nseen billowing from the fuselage of the plane before it crashed
\nand that there were indications that one of the plane's
\npropellers had broken before the fire started.<\/p>\n
The demands include that a correction and apology to IPTN be
\npublished in local and foreign publications for the inaccurate
\nreport. The format and editorial content of the correction and
\napology would be determined by IPTN.<\/p>\n
IPTN also demands that the Post pay compensation, the amount
\nis to be negotiated.<\/p>\n
\"If The Jakarta Post fails to give satisfactory response
\nwithin seven days, IPTN will take necessary legal action,\" IPTN's
\nchief lawyer Adnan Buyung Nasution said.<\/p>\n
Buyung said the correction and apology that the Post made in
\nits May 24 edition were \"inadequate\" given the damage it had
\ncaused to IPTN's reputation.<\/p>\n
Though he believed the Post had not had bad intentions with
\nits May 23 article, Buyung said the Post had neglected the
\nnegative impact of its article on IPTN as foreign newspapers
\nquoted it.<\/p>\n
\"The article might have been a bad advertisement for IPTN's
\ncredibility. Some interested foreigners have questioned Habibie
\n(IPTN's president director) regarding the Post's article,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
\"IPTN may have lost an international tender for small
\nairplanes' procurement due to the report,\" he said.<\/p>\n
He cited three Abu Dhabi newspapers and the Sunday Times of
\nSingapore which had quoted the Post's article.<\/p>\n
IPTN is competing for a US$300 million procurement contracts
\nfor small airplanes in the Middle East (United Arab Emirates),
\nSouth Korea and Australia. (imn)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/cn-235-plane-crash-caused-by-human-error-team-1447893297",
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