Susilo questions aviation safety standards<\/p>\n
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered on Monday Minister of
\nTransportation Hatta Radjasa to investigate the implementation of
\naviation safety standards in the country in order to prevent more
\naircraft crashes.<\/p>\n
Susilo's instruction came shortly after a Mandala Boeing-737
\npassenger jet crashed into a dense residential area in Medan,
\nNorth Sumatra, killing at least 143 people on board and on the
\nground. The incident is the worst plane crash in the country in
\nfive years.<\/p>\n
"President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has instructed the
\nMinister of Transportation to carry out a thorough investigation
\ninto the cause of the accident soon and take the necessary
\nmeasures to prevent more plane crashes in the future,"
\npresidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng said.<\/p>\n
Soaring fuel prices have hit the country's air transportation
\nindustry hard, putting some smaller carriers out of business and
\nmeaning others have reduced services.<\/p>\n
Hatta flew to Medan 90 minutes after the crash, which occurred
\nshortly after 10 a.m.<\/p>\n
"The President offers his deep condolences to the families of
\nthe victims of Mandala crash," Andi said, adding that Susilo had
\nasked Hatta to coordinate the deployment government officials to
\nhelp survivors and provide them with medical support.<\/p>\n
The minister was also ordered to release complete information
\nto the public about the cause of the accident, Andi said.<\/p>\n
Earlier in the day, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said that the
\naccident was a warning to the government that it must improve its
\nsupervision of the country's transportation system.<\/p>\n
"We are aware that every technical weaknesses may cause a
\ncalamity. Our national airline companies must be more careful in
\nrunning their transportation systems," he said after presiding
\nover a ministerial meeting on the fuel subsidy.<\/p>\n
Mandala Airlines spokesman Alex Widjoyo said the company had
\nfollowed safety standards, including regular maintenance of its
\nfleet of 15 aircraft.<\/p>\n
"We have 13 Boeing 737-200s and two Boeing 737-400s, all of
\nwhich are in good condition. All our planes and pilots last
\nunderwent regular checks by the transportation ministry at the
\nend of 2004. They were declared fit to fly," Alex said.<\/p>\n
Most of the company's aircraft are more than 20 years old and
\nconsist mainly of vintage Boeing 737-200 jets, AP reported.<\/p>\n
Mandala Airlines was established and began operational in
\n1969. It is 90 percent owned by Army Strategic Reserves Command's
\nDharma Putra Kostrad Foundation. Former president Suharto, also a
\nformer Kostrad chief, was instrumental in setting up the airline,
\nwhich involved the Nusamba group.<\/p>\n
Separately, chairman of the House's Commission V on
\ntransportation Sofyan Mile urged the government to tighten the
\nissuance of licenses to new airline companies.<\/p>\n
"If it is found later that technical errors were behind the
\nplane crash, the government as regulator must take the necessary
\nmeasures to tighten the issuance of operational licenses for the
\nsake of passengers' safety," Sofyan said.<\/p>\n
The House has sent a group on a fact-finding mission to Medan,
\nwhere it will join a team of investigators from the National
\nTransportation Safety Commission.<\/p>\n
The commission has asked the transportation minister to appear
\nin a hearing to discuss the accident later this week. (006)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/susilo-questions-aviation-safety-standards-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}