Susilo questions aviation safety standards
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered on Monday Minister of Transportation Hatta Radjasa to investigate the implementation of aviation safety standards in the country in order to prevent more aircraft crashes.
Susilo's instruction came shortly after a Mandala Boeing-737 passenger jet crashed into a dense residential area in Medan, North Sumatra, killing at least 143 people on board and on the ground. The incident is the worst plane crash in the country in five years.
"President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has instructed the Minister of Transportation to carry out a thorough investigation into the cause of the accident soon and take the necessary measures to prevent more plane crashes in the future," presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng said.
Soaring fuel prices have hit the country's air transportation industry hard, putting some smaller carriers out of business and meaning others have reduced services.
Hatta flew to Medan 90 minutes after the crash, which occurred shortly after 10 a.m.
"The President offers his deep condolences to the families of the victims of Mandala crash," Andi said, adding that Susilo had asked Hatta to coordinate the deployment government officials to help survivors and provide them with medical support.
The minister was also ordered to release complete information to the public about the cause of the accident, Andi said.
Earlier in the day, Vice President Jusuf Kalla said that the accident was a warning to the government that it must improve its supervision of the country's transportation system.
"We are aware that every technical weaknesses may cause a calamity. Our national airline companies must be more careful in running their transportation systems," he said after presiding over a ministerial meeting on the fuel subsidy.
Mandala Airlines spokesman Alex Widjoyo said the company had followed safety standards, including regular maintenance of its fleet of 15 aircraft.
"We have 13 Boeing 737-200s and two Boeing 737-400s, all of which are in good condition. All our planes and pilots last underwent regular checks by the transportation ministry at the end of 2004. They were declared fit to fly," Alex said.
Most of the company's aircraft are more than 20 years old and consist mainly of vintage Boeing 737-200 jets, AP reported.
Mandala Airlines was established and began operational in 1969. It is 90 percent owned by Army Strategic Reserves Command's Dharma Putra Kostrad Foundation. Former president Suharto, also a former Kostrad chief, was instrumental in setting up the airline, which involved the Nusamba group.
Separately, chairman of the House's Commission V on transportation Sofyan Mile urged the government to tighten the issuance of licenses to new airline companies.
"If it is found later that technical errors were behind the plane crash, the government as regulator must take the necessary measures to tighten the issuance of operational licenses for the sake of passengers' safety," Sofyan said.
The House has sent a group on a fact-finding mission to Medan, where it will join a team of investigators from the National Transportation Safety Commission.
The commission has asked the transportation minister to appear in a hearing to discuss the accident later this week. (006)