JAL to pay repairs to houses damaged by falling engine

JAKARTA (JP): Japan Airlines (JAL) announced on Monday it would pay for repairs to houses in three Tangerang villages that were damaged when engine parts from a Boeing 747 fell on them last week.

However, the airline did not say whether it would pay compensation to villagers who suffered shock during the incident.

"We deeply regret the incident and are very relieved that there were no casualties," JAL's Jakarta office said in a statement that was not signed by any of its executives.

The release did not mention the estimated cost of fixing the houses, nor whether JAL would give cash to the residents or hire its own repairmen to do the work.

The four-engined jet, flight number JL736, with 366 passengers and 17 crew aboard, had just taken off from Jakarta's Soekarno- Hatta International Airport for Tokyo late last Tuesday night when it experienced trouble in its number 1 engine.

The incident occurred 15 minutes into the journey at around 11:40 p.m. when the aircraft was at a height of around 1,000 feet.

The plane returned to Jakarta and landed safely at the airport at 12:42 a.m., having first disposed of some of its fuel. No one was injured and all of the passengers were flown to Japan the following evening.

The next day, airport authorities were informed about a number of houses located three kilometers from the airport runways that had been hit by falling debris.

At least 33 houses in three villages in Sepatan, Tangerang regency, namely Jatimulya, Kedaung Barat and Tanah Merah were slightly damaged.

Local people have demanded JAL pay compensation not only for physical damage but also for psychological suffering caused by the falling debris.

"Compensation should not only be paid to those whose houses were damaged by the falling metal, but also to other people who suffered shock during the accident," Jatimulya resident Josep, 35, said on Friday.

Narsih, 40, said that material losses suffered by locals were small.

"Only some roofs were damaged by the debris. But we here feel stressed out (from the accident)," Narsih said.

Another villager, Ati, fainted after a piece of hot metal 100 centimeters in diameter blasted through her roof and landed on her bed. She said she was still traumatized by the accident.

In Monday's statement, JAL said the cause of the incident remained unknown.

"The Aircraft Accident Investigation Commission (AAIC) of the Indonesian Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunication launched an investigation on Sept. 6," it said.

The aircraft was a JAL 747-300 which was registered as JA 8178 and powered by Pratt and Whitney JT9D-7R4G2 engines, it added.

Officials from Japan's Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) are co- operating with Indonesian authorities, it explained.

"JAL, together with the aircraft's manufacturer Boeing Commercial Airline Company and engine makers Pratt and Whitney, is co-operating fully with the authorities in the investigation. JAL has already dispatched a team of technical staff to Jakarta to participate in the inquiry." (bsr)