CVR hoped to reveal cause of Boeing crash
Tarko Sudarno, The Jakarta Post, Klaten
A team of investigators and PT Garuda Indonesia Airlines are expected to unravel the mystery behind the Boeing 737 crash- landing here following the recovery of the plane's cockpit voice recorder (CVR) on Monday.
The flight data recorder (FDR) was recovered on the day of the crash, Wednesday, Jan. 16, and therefore a full investigation into the case is underway, said Agus Sudaryo, chief of the Garuda Technical Team.
The voice recorder was found at 10:35 a.m. on Monday, some 500 meters from where the aircraft crash-landed, by a team from the Navy plus several teams under the National Commission on Transportation Safety.
On Monday, a crane was used to drag the plane onto the riverbank. As soon as investigators give clearance, the Boeing 737 will be disassembled into various parts: tail, cockpit, mid- section and wings.
Agus further said that even though a full investigation was underway, it would take months to reach a conclusion as to why the plane crash-landed because the delicate process -- such as analyzing the contents of the voice recorder and FDR as well as pilot and witness accounts plus other evidence -- had to be conducted carefully.
"From the FDR we will find out the plane's altitude during the incident, the weather, engine condition and the pilot's actions before the crash. While from CVR we will gather communication from the cockpit to the nearest tower and conversation between crew," the officer said.
He said that previously the team was hesitant to use its detector to locate the black box since it was possible that the magnetic effect from the detector could damage the recording.
"But then we decided to use the detector before the strong current of Bengawan Solo River could sweep away the CVR," he said.
The officer further said that Garuda fully supported the investigation.
A flight attendant, Santi Anggraeni, died and at least 32 passengers were injured when the aircraft made an emergency landing into the Bengawan Solo river in Klaten regency, Central Java, in bad weather.
Ten members of the Amphibian Unit of the Navy's Eastern Fleet had been trying to locate the black box since Saturday.
Meanwhile, the aircraft's two engines have been removed from the plane and transported to Adisumarmo Airport in the Central Java city of Surakarta.
The Boeing 737 aircraft was carrying 54 passengers and six crew members. It took off from Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, and was approaching Yogyakarta when the accident occurred.
It was the second accident in three days involving a Boeing 737 in Indonesia. On Jan. 14, several people were slightly injured when a 737 operated by Lion Airlines crashed during an aborted takeoff from Pekanbaru in Riau province.