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Garuda pilot charged over deadly Yogyakarta crash

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The Australian

 

Garuda pilot charged over deadly Yogyakarta crash

 

By Stephen Fitzpatrick February 05, 2008 07:07am

 

GARUDA pilot Marwoto Komar faces up to seven years' jail after Indonesian police yesterday laid charges over last year's Yogyakarta plane crash in which 21 people, including five Australians, died.

 

Police have been under intense pressure to speed up the criminal investigation into crash on March 7 when Garuda flight 200 from Jakarta overshot the runway.

 

A National Transportation Safety Committee report last October found that Captain Marwoto, 45, tried to land the Boeing 737-400 at twice the proper speed and ignored 15 automated cockpit warnings as he did so.

 

He also rejected frantic calls by his co-pilot, Gagam Saman Rahman, to perform a "go-around" at the last minute, which could have avoided the tragedy.

 

Under international air accident investigation guidelines, the findings in that report are not admissible in a criminal prosecution, meaning police have had to mount their own investigation into the matter.

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Yesterday's interrogation was Captain Marwoto's fourth since the crash, although it was the first time he has officially been a suspect in the case.

 

In previous interviews, he has had the status of witness.

 

Captain Marwoto's lawyer, Mohammad Assegaf, warned that the charges laid against his client could have a drastic effect on the booming air transport industry, with other Indonesian pilots potentially refusing to fly.

 

"In the case of accidents at sea, the ship's captain or the master is not criminally investigated, but they go through a maritime court," he said.

 

"Why is this not being done in the case of air travel? There needs to be some thought given to the matter of dealing with mistakes in ... aviation - it should not be a criminal matter."

 

Criminology professor Rudi Satrio, of the University of Indonesia, rejected Mr Assegaf's call, saying "we don't have an aviation court, but it doesn't matter because this matter is already provided for in the criminal code".

 

Another lawyer for Captain Marwoto, Kamal Firdaus, said the pilot could face several separate charges, including for manslaughter and criminal negligence. However, the maximum jail penalty allowable on any of these charges is seven years, for criminal negligence causing death in an aviation matter.

 

Legal experts consulted by The Australian yesterday said that under the Indonesian sentencing system, there would be no attempt to lay separate charges for each of the 21 deaths, meaning the seven-year penalty would be the maximum term served, should Captain Marwoto be found guilty.

 

Dr Satrio also said police would have the right to call an expert witness from the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) once the trial was under way, as this would not breach the international convention on accident investigators remaining separate from police inquiries.

 

"Because this is an aviation matter, it's very specialised, so if the police do not have the full ability to investigate it, they will have to rely on an expert witness to determine the outcome," Dr Satrio said.

 

"That could be the (committee)."

 

Senior KNKT member Mardjono Siswo Swarno said that any member of the committee could be expected to be called to give evidence "as a citizen of the nation".

 

"But if someone is called, they will merely be called as an expert witness, since the KNKT report may not be used in the court," Mr Mardjono said.

 

Embassy official Liz O'Neill, AusAID officer Allison Sudradjat, Australian Federal Police officers Brice Steele and Mark Scott and The Australian Financial Review journalist Morgan Mellish died in the crash. The Sydney Morning Herald political reporter Cynthia Banham was seriously injured.

 

http://www.news.com.au/travel/story/0,2605...5014090,00.html

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LATEST ...

 

 

ap_indonesia_Komar_pilot_24jul08_eng_175

 

Capt. Marwoto Komar sits on defendant's chair during trial in Yogyakarta, Central Java, Indonesia, 24 Jul 2008

 

Garuda crash captain wants his wings back

 

* Mark Forbes and Karuni Rompies

* July 25, 2008

 

A GARUDA pilot who failed to follow landing procedures and ignored his co-pilot's plea to abort with their Boeing 737 "running wild", says he wants to fly again despite facing criminal negligence charges over the deaths of 21 people.

 

Former captain Marwoto Komar appeared in his full Garuda pilot's uniform at Sleman District Court yesterday, although he was sacked and his pilot's licence suspended following a March 2007 crash in Yogyakarta.

 

Telling reporters he felt a "deep mourning" for the families of the victims - who included five Australians - Komar said he wore the uniform because "I am a pilot".

 

Asked if he hoped to fly again, he replied: "Of course, that is my life."

 

Prosecutors yesterday charged Komar with three counts of negligence and one of "deliberately" destroying or damaging an aircraft causing death, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

 

His lawyer, Mohammad Assegaf, said outside the court that it was impossible for a pilot to deliberately crash a plane and that pilots should be exempt from criminal charges.

 

"This is the first time a pilot is being criminalised when doing his job," Mr Assegaf said.

 

"Punishing the pilot would give rise to fears among pilots that one day they could be treated as a criminal over an aircraft accident."

 

He claimed Komar had already been adequately punished by the temporary revocation of his pilot's licence. "It is equal to killing his career," Mr Assegaf said.

 

Komar refused to comment on the accident. The 737 jet touched down at nearly double the safe speed, crashing through the airport's fence and bursting into flames.

 

Prosecutor Mudim Aristo told a five-judge panel that Komar had ignored the landing calculations of co-pilot Gagam Rahman, then ignored repeated automated warnings to abort.

 

"He deliberately force-landed the plane by diving down in a steep manner until the ground proximity warning system gave off a signal 'sink rate, whoop, whoop, pull up'," Mr Aristo said.

 

Komar ignored another 14 of the automated warnings and brought the plane down sharply before overshooting the runway, the hearing was told.

 

Co-pilot Gagam had warned Komar, saying, "Whoops Captain, go around Captain," but was ignored, Mr Aristo said.

 

With the plane travelling too high and too fast, the pilot should have executed a "go around" at least 12 kilometres from the airport and made a new landing attempt.

 

"The accused ordered co-pilot Gagam to change flaps from 5 to 15 degrees," Mr Aristo said. "On 240 knots, co-pilot Gagam refused to do so, because the plane speed was too high."

 

In his police interrogation report, revealed by The Age on Wednesday, Komar said he had not stabilised the plane throughout the descent.

 

Unable to lift its nose, Komar claimed touching down was the "least risky" option, despite admitting "under such conditions it was clear it was not safe for landing".

 

Garuda Pilots Association head Stephanus Geraldus vowed yesterday to support Komar as it was unfair for a pilot to face criminal charges.

 

The hearing will resume next week. The Australians killed in the crash were Australian Financial Review journalist Morgan Mellish, diplomat Liz O'Neill, AusAID official Allison Sudradjat, and Australian Federal Police agents Brice Steele and Mark Scott.

 

http://www.theage.com.au/world/garuda-cras...j4.html?page=-1

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The pilot ignored automated warnings to "go around" because he wanted to save fuel. Garuda just introduced large bonuses for pilots who were able to save fuel. Money first..safety comes last..

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Page last updated at 07:57 GMT, Monday, 6 April 2009 08:57 UK

 

Indonesian crash pilot sentenced

 

_45637238_pilot_ap226b.jpg

Marwoto Komar said he planned to appeal against the ruling

 

The pilot of an Indonesian plane that crashed at an airport on Java island, killing 21 people, has been jailed for two years for criminal negligence.

 

An inquiry found that Capt Marwoto Komar had approached the runway too fast and landed at too steep an angle.

 

The Boeing 737 skidded off the runway and burst into flames on 7 March 2007.

 

Five Australians were among the dead - many were diplomats, journalists and officials accompanying Australia's then-foreign minister Alexander Downer.

 

The minister was travelling to Yogyakarta on a separate plane.

 

'No remorse'

 

"The defendant, Marwoto Komar, is legally and convincingly guilty of criminal negligence resulting in the jet's crash and the deaths of other people," chief judge Sri Andini ruled.

 

_44858502_airliner_ap226b.jpg

The wreckage of a Garuda airliner (07/03/07)

Capt Marwoto Komar approached the runway at almost double normal speed

 

He said the heavy sentence was handed down because of the number of fatalities and the fact that the pilot "never expressed remorse during the trial".

 

Marwoto Komar said he planned to appeal against the ruling. He had maintained that faulty wing flaps were to blame for the plane's excessive speed.

 

However, a report by an Indonesian safety committee found that Komar ignored 15 automatic warnings from inside the cockpit, and also pleas from his co-pilot to abort the landing and take the approach again.

 

Indonesia relies on air travel to connect its many islands, but old planes and inadequate investment mean the country has one of the worst aviation safety records in the world.

 

The European Union has banned Indonesian airlines from its airspace since 2007 because of safety concerns.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7985041.stm

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The pilot ignored automated warnings to "go around" because he wanted to save fuel. Garuda just introduced large bonuses for pilots who were able to save fuel. Money first..safety comes last..

 

That's a dumb thing to do, giving out bonuses for those who can save fuel.

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The pilot ignored automated warnings to "go around" because he wanted to save fuel. Garuda just introduced large bonuses for pilots who were able to save fuel. Money first..safety comes last..

 

If this is true then the one who should be charged is the management.

 

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A BONUS scheme rewarding pilots who save fuel could have been behind the Garuda Airline crash in Indonesia which killed 21 people, including five Australians, an Indonesian pilots union says.

 

Garuda Pilots' Association president Captain Stephanus Geraldus said he was concerned about Garuda's policy of paying pilots a 3 per cent bonus if they conserved fuel, and said it could have been the reason why the pilot continued with the fatal landing in Yogyakarta.

 

"This policy for fuel efficiency for individual pilots could hamper flight safety," he said.

 

-HeraldSun Australia

 

 

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If this is true then the one who should be charged is the management.

 

Air crashes are seldom caused by just one single component. Other causal factors must4 also be weighed out, and while the pilot should be canned for what he did, serious in depth studies should also be done to ascertain that there is no management link which may cause a systemic problem that eventually caused the crash. If there is then blame should be accordingly apportioned, and remedial and corrective steps made, not just to ensure justice is done but also for future avoidance of reoccurance.

 

There have been a number of fatal accidents in recent years where the pilot has been solely blamed while those linked to the contributary factors get away cleanly.

 

I hope the lawyers has done their best in providing defense for the pilot.

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All I can say is that it is fortunate that he is in command of a 737. Imagine how many more will be dead had he been in charge of a WB aircraft! Indonesian airlines have been blacklisted by the EU and it is not a good reflection on the Indonesian civil aviation industry. I agree that accidents usually occur following a series of errors and that there is no one specific cause to an air crash. Lets hope the Indonesian authorities can come to some conclusion and take measures to prevent a recurrence of this trajedy.

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It's interesting that the defendant always appeared in court well-groomed and resplendent in his captain uniform.

 

img-060409-236.onlineBild.jpg

 

And I thot if he was found guilty of causing so many deaths, his sentence should have been heavier.

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