Visa application slows plane crash probe

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