Indonesian investigators retrieving plane wreck
Source: AFP |
April 16, 2013, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
INDONESIAN investigators yesterday began retrieving the wreck of a Lion Air plane that crashed at Bali's airport, as accounts emerged of a freak storm that could have caused the accident.
The Boeing 737-800 missed the runway as it came in to land last Saturday, slamming into the sea and splitting in two. Dozens of the 108 people on board were injured, but there were no fatalities.
Government officials and the airline said at the time of the crash that the weather had been fine. But transport ministry official Herry Bakti said yesterday the plane had been traveling through dense cloud at the time of the incident and one passenger told how the aircraft became engulfed in torrential rain.
French businessman Jean Grandy, 49, one of four foreigners on the plane, said that the flight from the city of Bandung in West Java had appeared to be landing smoothly.
"The final approach was fine," he said. "Then suddenly, a cloud enveloped us. Torrents of water were pouring on us, it was an enormous downpour. It only lasted two, three minutes."
"It was almost as if it was night, even though the sun had been shining just before," said Grandy.
His testimony supported the views of some analysts who said that as the plane was new, a freak weather incident may have caused the crash of the Boeing 737-800, which was delivered to Lion Air only last month.
Tom Ballantyne, chief correspondent of Orient Aviation magazine, said the accident could have been caused by a change in wind direction and speed between different altitudes, or a strong downdraft from storm clouds.
The Indonesian pilot, Mahlup Gozali, who had more than 10,000 flying hours, and the Indian co-pilot, Chiraq Carla, tested negative for drugs and alcohol in preliminary tests.
The Boeing 737-800 missed the runway as it came in to land last Saturday, slamming into the sea and splitting in two. Dozens of the 108 people on board were injured, but there were no fatalities.
Government officials and the airline said at the time of the crash that the weather had been fine. But transport ministry official Herry Bakti said yesterday the plane had been traveling through dense cloud at the time of the incident and one passenger told how the aircraft became engulfed in torrential rain.
French businessman Jean Grandy, 49, one of four foreigners on the plane, said that the flight from the city of Bandung in West Java had appeared to be landing smoothly.
"The final approach was fine," he said. "Then suddenly, a cloud enveloped us. Torrents of water were pouring on us, it was an enormous downpour. It only lasted two, three minutes."
"It was almost as if it was night, even though the sun had been shining just before," said Grandy.
His testimony supported the views of some analysts who said that as the plane was new, a freak weather incident may have caused the crash of the Boeing 737-800, which was delivered to Lion Air only last month.
Tom Ballantyne, chief correspondent of Orient Aviation magazine, said the accident could have been caused by a change in wind direction and speed between different altitudes, or a strong downdraft from storm clouds.
The Indonesian pilot, Mahlup Gozali, who had more than 10,000 flying hours, and the Indian co-pilot, Chiraq Carla, tested negative for drugs and alcohol in preliminary tests.
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