U.S. team begins probe into crash<\/p>\n
Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan<\/p>\n
A team of U.S. investigators and local experts began a probe on
\nThursday to find the cause of Mandala Boeing-737 crash that
\nkilled 149 people in Medan, North Sumatra on Monday.<\/p>\n
The team from the U.S. National Safety Transportation Board
\n(NSTB) headed directly to the crash site in the densely populated
\nPadang Bulan area on Thursday afternoon and studied the charred
\nplane wreckage for about an hour.<\/p>\n
The six investigators, led by William Robert English,
\ncollected evidence that could help them reveal the cause of the
\ncrash, the second-worst in the world this year.<\/p>\n
Many curious Medan residents encircled the massive crash site
\nand enthusiastically watched the work of the visiting team, as
\npolice security struggled to keep them at bay.<\/p>\n
Obstacles to the investigation also came from other quarters.
\nSoeryanto, an official with the National Commission of
\nTransportation whose investigators are aiding their U.S.
\ncounterparts, said scavengers seen earlier roaming the crash site
\nhad taken parts of the charred plane wreckage to sell.<\/p>\n
A frustrated Soeryanto appealed to the scavengers to return
\nthe parts to his team. \"We're still having a hard time collecting
\nevidence,\" said Soeryanto, noting that important engine pieces
\nwere missing. \"I call on anybody who knows the whereabouts of the
\npieces of the plane to return them,\" he said as quoted by The
\nAssociated Press.<\/p>\n
Earlier that morning, the U.S. team held talks with the
\nIndonesian investigators and officials from Polonia Airport
\noperator, PT Angkasa Pura II, in Medan.<\/p>\n
Discussions centered around the preliminary findings on the
\npossible causes of the plane crash, along with the wind direction
\nand weather conditions when the 24-year-old Boeing 737-200 plane
\nwent down.<\/p>\n
Emerging from the meeting, Frans Winner, the chief of the
\nIndonesian team, said the aircraft's black box would be
\ndispatched with the American investigators to the U.S. for
\nfurther investigations. The plane's engine would be sent to
\naircraft maker PT Dirgantara Indonesia in Bandung for study and
\nthe plane's fuel would be shipped to a Pertamina depot in Cepu,
\nCentral Java, for analysis there, Frans said.<\/p>\n
\"We are targeting that the causes behind the plane crash can
\nbe determined within the next three months,\" he said.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/us-team-begins-probe-into-crash-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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