Garuda crew members queried over crash

Garuda crew members queried over crash

FUKUOKA, Japan (Kyodo): Police have begun questioning three crew members of a Garuda Indonesia Airlines passenger jet that caught fire after an aborted takeoff from Fukuoka Airport, in southwestern Japan, in June last year.

They are suspected of professional negligence and violating aviation laws, police sources said yesterday.

Ronald Longdong, captain of the DC-10, and two other crew members are being questioned, the sources said.

Police questioned them at a hospital shortly after the jet, bound for Jakarta via Bali with 260 passengers and a crew of 15 on board, burst into flames after skidding onto a grassy area after overshooting the runway on June 13.

The incident left three people dead and more than 100 injured.

The questioning will last several days, the sources said.

In December last year, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Committee said in a draft report that the pilot's decision to abort the takeoff may have caused the crash of the jetliner.

According to the panel, trouble in the third engine under the plane's starboard wing apparently caused the pilot to abort.

The draft report says the trouble stemmed from a damaged turbine blade in the third engine, which caused a drastic drop in engine thrust.

The pilot told investigators that he aborted the takeoff because he felt the aircraft did not have enough lift.