Crashed Indonesian jet’s thro les showed ‘anomaly’ — Report

JAKARTA: A crashed Indonesian passenger jet’s thro les showed an ‘anomaly’ and had been repaired several times before the deadly accident, but the exact cause of last month’s fatal dive was still unclear, investigators said yesterday.

A potential malfunction in the Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737500’s engine control system was highlighted in a preliminary report on the Jan 9 crash which killed all 62 passengers and crew, including nearly a dozen children.

The 26-year-old plane — previously flown by US-based Continental Airlines and United Airlines — plunged around 3,000 metres and crashed into waters off Jakarta just minutes a er takeoff.

Yesterday, investigators said they were probing the autothro le system as they published their interim report.

“The le (engine thro le) was moving backward too far while the right one was not moving at all — it was stuck,” said National Transportation Safety Commi ee investigator Nurcahyo Utomo.

“But what would have caused this anomaly? We can’t conclude anything just yet.”

Authorities have previously said the crew did not declare an emergency or report technical problems with the aircra before its dive, and that it was probably intact when it hit the water.

They cited a relatively small area where the wreckage was sca ered and details from a retrieved flight data recorder — one of two so-called ‘black boxes’ — showing the engine was still running just before it crashed.

Communications with air traffic control were described as normal up until the moment that the plane sharply deviated from its intended course and crashed.

The crew, including an experienced captain, did not reply to questions about the plane’s change of direction.

Crews on previous flights had reported that the system was ‘unserviceable’ and it had been repaired several times before the fatal crash, the report said.

But it did not pinpoint the system as the cause of the accident, and the probe would also look at other potential factors, including pilot error.

“The investigation is ongoing and focuses on, but not limited to, review (the) autothro le system and related component, including its maintenance, and human and organisational factors,” the report said.

While the flight had been delayed due to bad weather, there was no indication that the conditions played a pivotal role in the accident, authorities said, adding that two other commercial planes flew the same route without incident just before and a er the plane.

Divers were still hunting the seabed for a still-missing cockpit voice recorder, which tracks flight crew conversations, and could shed more light on the accident.

Black box data includes the speed, altitude and direction of the plane as well as flight crew conversations, and helps explain nearly 90 per cent of all crashes, according to aviation experts.

A team from the US National Transportation Safety Board is taking part in the investigation, along with staff from Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration.

Sriwijaya Air, which flies to destinations in Indonesia and across Southeast Asia, has previously had safety incidents – including runway overruns – but no other fatal crashes since starting operations in 2003. — AFP