Garuda, Mandala abort their flights<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
A Garuda Indonesia airliner flying from North Sumatra's capital
\nof Medan made an emergency landing on Tuesday morning at Sultan
\nSyarif Kasim II Airport in Pekanbaru, Riau, due to a fuel
\nindicator problem.<\/p>\n
In another incident on Tuesday, a Mandala aircraft returned to
\nSoekarno-Hatta Airport in Jakarta after only 10 minutes in the
\nair due to glitches with landing gear warning lamps.<\/p>\n
There were no casualties in either of the incidents, which
\ncame just a day after a Mandala aircraft crashed into a dense
\nresidential area in Medan, killing 150 people on board and on the
\nground.<\/p>\n
All 82 passengers of the Garuda Boeing 737-400 airplane were
\nimmediately transferred to other flights.<\/p>\n
\"Captain Toni Bagus saw that the plane's fuel indicator was
\nfaulty, and immediately landed at a nearby airport, which is in
\nline with flight safety procedures,\" Garuda Indonesia
\nspokesperson Pudjobroto was quoted as saying by Antara.<\/p>\n
Among the fortunate passengers were Minister of Social Affairs
\nBachtiar Chamsyah and five members of the House of
\nRepresentatives Commission V on transportation,
\ntelecommunications and public works.<\/p>\n
They were flying from Medan after making a visit of condolence
\nfor North Sumatra governor Tengku Rizal Nurdin, who was killed in
\nthe Mandala crash on Monday.<\/p>\n
\"There was only a problem with the fuel indicator. Our
\nprocedures rule that pilots should immediately land at a nearby
\nairstrip if something suspicious occurs,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Brushing off maintenance problems, Pudjobroto said the plane
\ncould still fly for many years to come. The plane was immediately
\nrepaired after landing.<\/p>\n
Passengers, however, recalled a more frightening situation
\naboard the plane when the pilots told them that the plane's right
\nengine had broken down.<\/p>\n
Social ministry's director general of social assistance Amrun
\nDaulay, who was accompanying Minister Bachtiar, said light
\nturbulence occurred some 40 minutes after take-off.<\/p>\n
\"We were told by the pilots that there had been damage to the
\nright engine and were told to remain calm. The pilots tried to
\nfly manually, but later decided to land at a nearby airport,\" he
\nwas quoted as saying by detikcom.<\/p>\n
The relatively minor incident was especially frightening for
\npassengers following Monday's crash of the Mandala aircraft due
\nto a total engine shutdown on takeoff at Polonia Airport in
\nMedan.<\/p>\n
In Jakarta, Mandala officials said the pilot of the Boeing
\n737-200 bound for Jambi made a U-turn because its landing gear
\nlamps did not go off after takeoff.<\/p>\n
\"The lamps should have gone off when the plane was already
\nflying. But they didn't,\" Mandala spokesperson Alex Widjojo
\nexplained.<\/p>\n
The pilot of the plane decided to return to Jakarta to prevent
\nany further problems and ensure the safety of passengers, Alex
\nadded. The plane is of the same type as the aircraft that crashed
\nin Medan on Monday.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/garuda-mandala-abort-their-flights-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}