U.S. team begins probe into crash

U.S. team begins probe into crash

Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan

A team of U.S. investigators and local experts began a probe on
Thursday to find the cause of Mandala Boeing-737 crash that
killed 149 people in Medan, North Sumatra on Monday.

The team from the U.S. National Safety Transportation Board
(NSTB) headed directly to the crash site in the densely populated
Padang Bulan area on Thursday afternoon and studied the charred
plane wreckage for about an hour.

The six investigators, led by William Robert English,
collected evidence that could help them reveal the cause of the
crash, the second-worst in the world this year.

Many curious Medan residents encircled the massive crash site
and enthusiastically watched the work of the visiting team, as
police security struggled to keep them at bay.

Obstacles to the investigation also came from other quarters.
Soeryanto, an official with the National Commission of
Transportation whose investigators are aiding their U.S.
counterparts, said scavengers seen earlier roaming the crash site
had taken parts of the charred plane wreckage to sell.

A frustrated Soeryanto appealed to the scavengers to return
the parts to his team. "We're still having a hard time collecting
evidence," said Soeryanto, noting that important engine pieces
were missing. "I call on anybody who knows the whereabouts of the
pieces of the plane to return them," he said as quoted by The
Associated Press.

Earlier that morning, the U.S. team held talks with the
Indonesian investigators and officials from Polonia Airport
operator, PT Angkasa Pura II, in Medan.

Discussions centered around the preliminary findings on the
possible causes of the plane crash, along with the wind direction
and weather conditions when the 24-year-old Boeing 737-200 plane
went down.

Emerging from the meeting, Frans Winner, the chief of the
Indonesian team, said the aircraft's black box would be
dispatched with the American investigators to the U.S. for
further investigations. The plane's engine would be sent to
aircraft maker PT Dirgantara Indonesia in Bandung for study and
the plane's fuel would be shipped to a Pertamina depot in Cepu,
Central Java, for analysis there, Frans said.

"We are targeting that the causes behind the plane crash can
be determined within the next three months," he said.