Airplane accident investigation

Airplane accident investigation

From Media Indonesia

A news item on page 24 of Media Indonesia of Oct. 7, 1997
headlined Sikado rejects police involvement in unraveling GA 152
Case has set me reflecting upon the bad luck of the police
because the authority given them by the law can be canceled
simply through the statement of an official.

Prior to the Afro-Asia Conference in 1955 a Kashmir Princess
aircraft crashed into the sea around Natuna. Police investigation
later proved that the aircraft had been sabotaged. Evidence
collected from this investigation is on display at the Police
Museum, Jl. Trunojoyo 3, Kebayoran Baru.

Article 6 of Law No. 8/1981 stipulates that investigators are
Indonesian police officers or certain civilian officials (PPNS).
Article 7 paragraph (2) stipulates that PPNS must exercise their
authority under the coordination of police investigators, while
Article 107 paragraph (1) states that police investigators will
help PPNS and give them directive, while paragraph (2) states
that if a crime should be assumed to have been committed and
strong evidence is present for the case to be brought to a public
prosecutor, PPNS must report this to police investigators.
Article 52 of Law No. 15/1992 confirms the police role as
investigators. It also states that PPNS within the ministry of
transportation may be authorized to act as investigators. So if
the GA 152 air crash has any indication of a criminal act, police
investigators are authorized to investigate. To ascertain whether
or not there is a criminal act, the police, by virtue of Article
4 of the criminal procedural code, act as both investigators and
detectives/examiners.

Article 34 of Law No. 15/1992 on aviation states that the
government will examine the causes of an air crash in the
territory of the Republic of Indonesia. It stresses that the
government undertakes examination, not investigation. The
clarification of this article states that this examination will
be conducted by a committee comprising experts on aviation and
other areas. Clearly, the Minister of Transportation Decree No.
SK.2/HK.601/PHB-997 is related to Article 48 of Law No. 15/1992.
It is also explained that all data collected during the
examination will not be used to assign blame for the crash, but
rather to prevent a similar air crash from happening. So the
committee will not conduct any investigation but will, instead,
examine the causes of the accident. If during the examination,
there are indications and/or evidence of a criminal act, these
must be passed on to the investigators. Of course, the
investigators must not simply wait for evidence from the
examiners. They are authorized by the law to actively seek
necessary information and data.

Clearly, a deviation from the prevailing laws is only possible
through the law, not through a statement or a decree.

The statement of the Director General of Air Transportation
must spur all investigators to be more professional.

Prohibiting the police to carry out an investigation will not
settle the problem but will rather complicate it. The ministry of
transportation deserve praise for setting up a combined team. In
this way both examiners and investigators will discuss together
the causes of the air crash. If there is indication of a criminal
act, further investigation can be conducted.

KOEPARMONO IRSAN

Jakarta