Mandala crash families may sue Boeing

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan

Families of more than 100 people killed in the Mandala Airlines crash last month plan to sue US aircraft maker Boeing Co. and have appointed Chicago-based Nolan Law Group to represent them, the firm's lawyer said on Wednesday.

Nolan attorney Manuel von Ribbeck said there had been no discussion yet as to how much the families intended to sue for.

However, he said the firm would first investigate the crash to ensure there was enough evidence to go to trial before filing a suit in Chicago where Boeing is also based.

He did not say how long it would take to complete the investigation but said the firm has appointed a Canadian investigator, Max Vermij, to investigate the accident.

Vermij, who was also in Medan, said he had investigated about 750 plane crashes, including the SilkAir Boeing 737 crash in Palembang in 1997.

He began working in Medan several days ago and could not say yet when his job would finish.

A Mandala Airlines Indonesia Boeing 737-200 jetliner crashed into a heavily populated area near the Polonia Airport in Medan on Sept. 5 this year, killing 102 people on board and 47 on the ground. Fifteen passengers survived the crash, the country's worst in eight years.

Separately, National Transportation Safety Board head Setio Raharjo told AP that investigations into the cause of crash were continuing and would be completed by early next year.

However, Setio declined to speculate on the cause of the accident and said he had not heard of Nolan's plan to sue Boeing.

The law firm, which has represented clients in almost every major air disaster, specializes in aviation law suits and has won multimillion dollar pay-outs.

Ribbeck said preliminary analysis showed the crash was not caused by one but by many factors, such as human error and engine damage.

He said there were currently about 12,000 types of Boeing 737 aircraft worldwide, with one plane airborne every five minutes. But Boeing 737-200s were no longer being used in developed countries because they were considered too old, he said.

Mandala Crash Victims Families Association head Waspada Sinulingga said the families had agreed to authorize Nolan Law Group to examine the case.

Sinulingga said they were not interested in suing PT Mandala Airlines, only the aircraft maker.