Garuda plane blaze blamed on fuel tank rupture<\/p>\n
FUKUOKA, Japan (Reuter): Investigators looking into an
\nIndonesian airliner crash believe the plane's passenger cabin
\ncaught fire from a fuel tank that ruptured when the takeoff was
\nsuddenly aborted by engine trouble.<\/p>\n
Sources close to the investigation team said the finding
\ncleared up one mystery of the accident last Thursday in which
\nthree passengers died and 110 were injured at this southern
\nJapanese airport.<\/p>\n
They said there had been uncertainty about whether the engine
\nproblem itself sparked the blaze or whether the mechanical
\nproblem was not directly linked to the blaze.<\/p>\n
Observation of the crash site showed that in the sudden
\nbraking of the plane when the pilot realized there was an engine
\nproblem, the full fuel tank on the right wing cracked, spewing
\nout fuel.<\/p>\n
The Garuda Indonesia DC-10, carrying 260 passengers and 15
\ncrew, had just lifted a few metres (yards) into the air on
\ntakeoff when it flopped back to earth and skidded off the runway
\nwith the passenger cabin ablaze.<\/p>\n
Passengers jumped from the cabin as the flames spread.<\/p>\n
The plane was carrying mostly Japanese on a flight to the
\nIndonesia island resort of Bali.<\/p>\n
The sources said investigators found that the pilot had
\napplied reverse thrust to all three engines -- one under each
\nwing and one in the tail -- in trying to halt the aircraft.<\/p>\n
Several passengers and crew have told investigators that there
\nappeared to be an odd engine sound when the plane started its
\ntakeoff run.<\/p>\n
The sources said the pilot also seemed to be aware at least of
\nthe odd sound, and decided to abort the takeoff.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Japan Broadcasting Corp. (NHK) quoted pilot
\nRonald Longdong Saturday as telling investigators there was
\nsomething wrong in an engine before his DC-10 jet crashed on
\ntakeoff.<\/p>\n
\"I noticed something abnormal in the engine when the plane was
\ntaxiing,\" Longdong, 38, was quoted as saying in a brief
\nquestioning by investigators, the NHK said.<\/p>\n
However the sources said the DC-10 had enough power to safely
\nlift off if just one engine was out, and they wanted to question
\nthe pilot about why he chose to abort the takeoff completely.<\/p>\n
Investigators from Japan, Indonesia, the plane-maker McDonnell
\nDouglas Corp and the engine-maker General Electric are taking
\npart in the probe.<\/p>\n
They have talked once to Indonesian pilot Ronald Longdong, 38,
\non the day of the crash but have been unable to question him
\nsince because he is in hospital with internal injuries.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/garuda-plane-blaze-blamed-on-fuel-tank-rupture-1447893297",
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