HK waits for RI's response

HK waits for RI's response

HONG KONG (AFP): Hong Kong is still waiting for Indonesia to
come through with the certificate of airworthiness of a Lockheed
Hercules transport aircraft that crashed in September, a senior
official said yesterday.

Director of Civil Aviation Peter Lok told a Legislative
Council panel looking into the crash that he had written to the
authorities in Jakarta for the document, but had yet to get a
reply.

"It would be inappropriate for us to surmise as to the reasons
why the Indonesians have yet to respond to my written request,"
he said. "But we are pursuing the matter."

Six crew members died when the American built turboprop,
registered in Indonesia, crashed into Hong Kong harbor only
seconds after taking off for Jakarta, apparently when one of its
four propellers failed.

Just hours earlier, it had been used to carry 33 Vietnamese to
Hanoi under the territory's policy of sending home Vietnamese
asylum seekers who have been denied refugee status and
resettlement in the west.

A certificate of airworthiness states that an aircraft was
found to be fit to fly on the date it was inspected. In countries
such as the U.S., it is required to be kept inside the aircraft
at all times.