Visa application slows plane crash probe

JAKARTA: The long wait for processing a visa at the United States Embassy in Jakarta has slowed down the investigation into the plane crash that killed at least 26 people in Surakarta, Central Java early this month.

Minister of Transportation Hatta Radjasa said here on Thursday that members of the National Transportation Safety Board (KNKT) had not yet received a visa to bring the plane's black box to the U.S. for investigation.

"We have been trying through diplomatic channels for the board members to enter the U.S. as soon as possible to open the black box," Hatta said.

A Boeing MD-82 jet of budget airline Lion Air crash-landed at the Adi Sumarno airport in Surakarta on Dec. 1, killing 26 of the more than 140 people on board. --JP