Denny Yen 0 Report post Posted March 11, 2009 (edited) 2,000 knots/min?!!! Garuda crash pilot blames 'steering jam' Adam Gartrell March 10, 2009 The pilot of a Garuda Indonesia plane that crashed killing 21 people - including five Australians - has blamed the disaster on mechanical problems, saying he did all he could to land the aircraft safely. The Boeing 737 slammed onto the runway at Yogyakarta airport in Java, careered into a field and exploded in flames on March 7, 2007. A government probe found pilot Marwoto Komar ignored 15 automated cockpit warnings not to land as he brought the plane in at roughly twice the safe speed. Komar is facing trial in Yogyakarta, accused of criminal negligence leading to death. But in Sleman District Court on Tuesday, Komar sought to blame the crash on steering problems. "At the height of 2,500 feet my plane went into a sharp dive, at the speed of 2,000 knots per minute," Komar, wearing his pilot's uniform, told the court. "'There is something wrong', I said to the co-pilot. "Then I switched off the auto-pilot, the automatic steering, and tried manually to lift the plane's nose. "But the plane was still diving. "The plane's steering was jammed, I could not lift or lower the nose." Komar said he did not ignore warnings from the aircraft or his co-pilot, but had in fact been powerless to heed them, because of the steering jam. "I have tried to save the plane, and the passengers," he said. "The rescue attempt that I made, that was my own initiative. "Why didn't I report (the problems) to air traffic controllers? Because there wasn't enough time, and it was an emergency situation." Komar conceded it was the first time he had put forward such an explanation for the crash, but said he'd been prevented from telling his story to the press. "What I convey here is not just a defence - by God's will, I am not lying," he said. Prosecutors last month abandoned a charge against Komar that he deliberately crashed the plane, conceding they did not have enough evidence to back it up. A verdict in the case is expected in the coming weeks. The Australians killed in the crash were diplomat Liz O'Neill, AusAID official Allison Sudradjat, Australian Federal Police officers Brice Steele and Mark Scott and Australian Financial Review journalist Morgan Mellish. Indonesia, which relies heavily on air links across the archipelago, has one of Asia's worst air safety records. © 2009 AAP Edited March 11, 2009 by Denny Yen Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Li Ren 2 Report post Posted March 11, 2009 Almost as fast as concorde . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Khaled 2 Report post Posted March 11, 2009 Almost as fast as concorde . 2000kts/min = 216,000km/hr concorde pun kalah. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mohamad Othman 0 Report post Posted March 11, 2009 (edited) 216,000 km/hr * 1000 m/km * (1/3600) hr/s = 60,000 m/s A new flight airspeed record! (see this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed) Or should I mention that it is MORE than the speed of space shuttle on re-entry..? hrmm.. Edited March 11, 2009 by Mohamad Othman Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Denny Yen 0 Report post Posted March 11, 2009 (edited) 2000kts/min = 216,000km/hr concorde pun kalah. Sounds like idle speed for Millennium Falcon or USS Vovager?!! Edited March 11, 2009 by Denny Yen Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Li Ren 2 Report post Posted March 11, 2009 (edited) Oops, missed the ''minutes''... If that case, passengers might faced 6G .... Edited March 11, 2009 by Li Ren Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nik H. 3 Report post Posted March 11, 2009 2000knots/hr???? What a crock of sh&t. knots is a measurement of speed, not distance. Like light years is a measurement distance, not speed. Nobody who claims to be in aviation, be it as someone who flies planes or even those who post 'expert comment' will say knots per hour or per minute. knots is nautical miles per hour. Either the pilot is cuckoo / kopi o type or he said 2000ft/min and the press and expert commentators pounced on 2000knots/min. Jokers and clowns...... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Khaled 2 Report post Posted March 11, 2009 Luckily mine wasn't an 'expert comment' More of a joking comment. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Waiping 12 Report post Posted March 11, 2009 2000knots/hr???? What a crock of sh&t. knots is a measurement of speed, not distance. Like light years is a measurement distance, not speed. Nobody who claims to be in aviation, be it as someone who flies planes or even those who post 'expert comment' will say knots per hour or per minute. knots is nautical miles per hour. Either the pilot is cuckoo / kopi o type or he said 2000ft/min and the press and expert commentators pounced on 2000knots/min. Jokers and clowns...... Well i think there has been quite a lot of negative press about Indonesian airlines and to some extend their pilots. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
daryl 0 Report post Posted March 11, 2009 i have a strong feeling he meant 2000ft/min. probabaly the person who wrote this report wasn't listening to him properly? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BC Tam 2 Report post Posted March 11, 2009 (edited) 2000knots/hr???? What a crock of sh&t. But change of speed over time = acceleration ie force. Could he have been referring to G forces instead ?! Yeah, agree though it's likely a "crock of sh&t" overall from said pilot, considering ..... found pilot Marwoto Komar ignored 15 automated cockpit warnings not to land as he brought the plane in at roughly twice the safe speed. One has to seriously consider whether the 'prayer cards' as shown here should be made mandatory on all Indonesian carriers ? Edited March 11, 2009 by BC Tam Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Khaled 2 Report post Posted March 11, 2009 i have a strong feeling he meant 2000ft/min. probabaly the person who wrote this report wasn't listening to him properly? Why so serious? This is just another article similar to Airbus 737 or Boeing A340 media report. We should all just laugh and enjoy the article. After all the pilot did say "'speed' of 2000xx/min". For a reporter with no aviation interest to know there's such thing as vertical speed@descend rate is something WOW to me. 99% of the time to the media: Boeing/Airbus=same thing 747/A330/a737/b340= same thing emergency landing= crash landing Normal landing which requires tow truck after that = emergency landing go around=almost crash turbulence=almost crash So why bother. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LeeCH 0 Report post Posted March 11, 2009 Black box shows no malfunction of jammed flight controls correct? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Denny Yen 0 Report post Posted March 11, 2009 Full report of crash is here: http://www.dephub.go.id/knkt/ntsc_aviation...C%20Release.pdf Gotta praise Indonesian authorities for transparency in this aspect. More reports here: http://www.dephub.go.id/knkt/ntsc_aviation/aaic.htm Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
