Fear led to Garuda crash

Fear led to Garuda crash

TOKYO (Reuter): The pilot of the Garuda Indonesia DC-10 that crashed on takeoff at southern Japan's Fukuoka airport this month has said he feared the aircraft would crash in the city if he forced his way up in the air.

"I tried lifting the plane's nose but it didn't react. I thought the plane will crash into the city of Fukuoka if we flew like this," captain Ronald Longdong said in an interview with Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun published yesterday.

The interview was the captain's first statement to the media since the accident, in which three passengers were killed and 110 injured.

Investigators, who said the DC-10 had enough power to safely lift off with just one engine, want to question the pilot about why he chose to abort the takeoff.

"I believe I did the best as the captain (of the plane)...I am truly sorry for the dead and injured passengers," Longdong was quoted as saying in the report.

Longdong refused to comment further on the details of the crash as the investigation had not been completed, but added he would accept the result of the findings, Asahi Shimbun reported.

The Garuda Indonesia airliner, carrying 260 passengers and 15 crew, rose a few metres (yards) into the air on takeoff before flopping back to earth and skidding off the runway with the passenger cabin ablaze.

Passengers jumped from the cabin as the flames spread.