Air accident findings no good in court: Board
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Following last week's publication of the findings of the investigation into an accident involving a Lion Air plane in Surakarta, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said on Tuesday that the findings of its investigation could not be used in court as evidence to support a lawsuit.
"Based on article 34 of the Air Navigation Law (No. 15/1992), our findings cannot be used to found a lawsuit," the board's chairman Setio Rahardjo said during a media briefing here.
Kamis Martono, a board member, added that its investigations were conducted for preventative purposes so as to help avoid the occurrence of similar accidents.
The two were commenting on a lawsuit brought by Lion Air against airport operator PT Angkasa Pura 1 right after the board announced the results of its investigation into the accident involving a Lion Air MD-82 aircraft at Adi Sumarmo International Airport, Surakarta, which is managed by Angkasa Pura.
The accident on Nov. 30, 2004, left 26 dead and 56 injured.
Lion Air public relations officer Hasyim Arsal Alhabsi refused to comment on Tuesday's statement by the NTSB. As for the airport operator, it claimed it had not yet received the findings of an audit of its airports, including Adi Sumarmo, by the Ministry of Transportation and therefore had not taken any follow-up action as yet.
The Lion Air lawsuit is based on the NTSB's findings that hydroplaning was the principal cause of the Surakarta accident, in addition to other contributing factors such as a strong tail wind, a malfunctioning spoiler and reverser on the place, and the positioning of a concrete structure that worsened the accident.
Setio explained that accumulations of water during heavy rain that could lead to hydroplaning could be overcome by improving the drainage system on airport runways. The NTSB recommended regular assessments of runway friction and water levels as well as the regular calibration of airport anemometers and windsocks.
Elsewhere, a separate Lion Air investigation revealed that the real wind speed at the time of the accident was 13 knots, not 8 knots as reported by the tower.
PT Angkasa Pura I corporate secretary Matius Tristuo said that air traffic control officers received 30-minute updated information on wind speed and direction from the local meteorological agency.
There has been a number of accidents involving planes skidding off the runway recently in Indonesia.
Last Friday, a Mandala Airline Boeing 737-200 skidded off the runway at Ahmad Yani Airport in Semarang, Central Java, as it was landing during a heavy rain, prompting the temporary closure of the airport.(003)