Sleepless nights for probe chief of SilkAir plane crash
Sleepless nights for probe chief of SilkAir plane crash
SINGAPORE (AFP): The chief investigator into the crash of a
Singapore plane that killed all 104 on board a year ago Saturday
says he has suffered sleepless nights as he searches for the
cause of the tragedy.
Oetarjo Diran of the Aircraft Accident Investigation
Commission in Indonesia, where the crash occurred, was quoted by
a Singapore newspaper Saturday as saying he was sad for the
relatives that the inquiry had still not borne fruit.
"But the trauma of the accident is still there for me too," he
told The New Paper. "It was traumatic to see body parts...
family members grieving.
"Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night with these
images in my head," Diran said, recalling how he had seen body
parts being recovered and families crying after Silkair Flight
MI-185 plunged into a river near Palembang on the Indonesian
island of Sumatra.
Among problems faced by the investigators was that the crucial
last six minutes before the plane went down were not recorded on
the flight data recorder.
Diran told relatives of victims at a private briefing here on
Thursday that investigators had ruled out terrorism, weather,
aircraft maintenance, hazardous materials and air traffic control
problems as possible causes of the accident.
There has been speculation about suicide by one of the pilots
as a likely cause of the crash and the investigators reiterated
they could not dismiss any possibility until proven invalid.
Although investigators had managed to pick up 73 percent of
the wreckage or 35 tonnes in weight, most of it was just
fragments.
Diran said: "If you are looking for a needle in a haystack, at
least you know you are looking for a needle. We cannot simply say
something was the reason for the crash without checking and re-
checking until we are absolutely certain.
Meanwhile, family members of passengers killed in an airline
crash in Indonesia a year ago sued Friday several manufacturers
and Boeing, claiming defective parts caused the crash.
The 104 plaintiffs claimed the manufacturers supplied
defective parts that caused the Boeing 737 to crash 67 minutes
into the flight, according to the Los Angeles Superior Court
complaint.
About an hour after the SilkAir Flight MI 185 left Jakarta
Loekarno-Hatta Airport on Dec. 19, a pressure sensor and other
related systems apparently malfunctioned, according to the
complaint.
In addition to Seattle-based Boeing, the lawsuit names
Kavilico Corp., ITT Neodyne, and Parker Hannifin Corp., all based
in California.
Spokespersons for the defendants were not immediately
available for comment.
The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified damages for wrongful
death, inheritance and value of life, among other allegations.