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.