Asia-Pacific Features

Air crash highlights perils of travel in Indonesia

By Joe Cochrane and Dewi Kurniawati Jan 9, 2007, 10:58 GMT

Jakarta - It did not take long following the disappearance of an Indonesian commercial jetliner on New Year's Day for the country's 'crisis management' to kick into high gear. As rescue workers were struggling to even locate the missing plane carrying 102 people, Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla omnipotently told the public that the presumed crash was not the fault of budget carrier Adam Air, which is partially owned by one of his political allies. Meanwhile, civilian and military authorities made a series of troubling gaffes, including announcing that they found Flight Ki-574 the following day along with 12 survivors, and then later that the aircraft, despite previous claims, had not actually issued a distress signal before disappearing in 'bad weather.' It was straight out of the Indonesian elite's playbook: sew confusion to isolate the grieving masses, protect vested political and business interests, and dismiss potential criminal negligence as acts of God and Mother Nature. But the unexpected happened this time. First, rescue teams still have not located the missing Adam Air Boeing 737-400, which has kept the accident in the headlines. Secondly, the presumed crash occurred three days after a ferry sunk in 'bad weather' in the Java Sea, leaving more than 380 missing and feared dead. The Jakarta government and Indonesia's transport industry are now enduring an unprecedented number of probing eyes, which have come up with some shocking statistics. Among them, according to local media, is that on average 80 people die on Indonesian roads daily, there is a train crash every five and one-half days and a boating mishap or sinking occurs once a week. 'In the last two or three years, transport and safety are getting worse,' said Danang Parikesit, a member of the Indonesian Transportation Society, during a panel discussion Tuesday on the country's air, land and sea woes. 'Many comments in the media often blame bad weather, but that's an excuse,' he said. 'We strongly believe the technology and people should be responsible.' Responsibility is forever in short supply in Indonesia. In a country where former dictator Suharto can live comfortably in retirement despite being accused of amassing a multi-billion-dollar fortune and killing hundreds of thousands of people, it is hard to imagine that well-connected shipping and airline companies have much to fear. Industry analysts cannot recall an Indonesian airline ever facing criminal charges in court for crashes or incidents. The results of government crash investigations are as a matter of policy never released to the public, and airlines frequently give hush money to victims' families immediately after crashes to shut them up. Indah Sukmaningsih of the Indonesian Consumers Organisation encouraged transport accident victims to file lawsuits because government regulations on investigations and compensation to victims were not transparent and did not punish wrongdoers. 'There's no thinking about the consumer,' she said. 'Why in this country are we not brave enough to sue the companies that really make the mistakes?' In the wake of the Adam Air flight's disappearance, numerous media articles suggested that Indonesia's budget air operators did not meet minimum safety regulations in the fight to save money, flew their aircraft too many hours, and employed inexperienced pilots. On the surface, the blame seemed reasonable, given that local budget carriers account for most aviation incidents such as skidding off runways, and one of them, Mandala Airlines, was involved in Indonesia's last major air crash disaster in September 2005 that killed more than 120 people. However, little evidence has emerged to back claims that Indonesian budget airlines are dangerous. 'To me, that kind of statement is very speculative,' said Parikesit of the transportation society, although he did say budget airlines were under pressure to overcome small profit margins made even smaller by maintenance and labour costs. Pring Saputra, managing director of Adam Air, denied his carrier's pilots were inexperienced and said media reports after the crash were not balanced. 'I think there is a political and business motive behind this,' he told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa. 'Our budget for safety is huge.' HK Martono, an official with Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee, which investigates all air crashes, said 'there is no relationship between safety and price' within the airline industry. However, he added, Indonesia's regulatory enforcement is far below that of many other countries. Critics say most ships sink in Indonesia because they are overloaded with cargo and passengers, a result of collusion between vessel operators and local port masters and maritime police. Investigations into sinkings are considered white washes because they usually blame bad weather. Transportation activists have applauded Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's call for the results of the Adam Air crash investigation to be made public for the sake of transparency, though not all agree. 'If we published the results, of course it will be counterproductive to our purposes to prevent future accidents,' Martono said, without elaborating. Then, summarizing one of the biggest problems with Indonesia's transportation industry, he said: 'We're transparent but not completely transparent.' © 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

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penalverJan 10th, 2007 - 01:53:12

Absolutely right,rampant corruption plague authorities called to enforce regulations,making close eyes and mouth close,allowing airliners owners,always without minimum understanding about aviation industry,act as is will managing such complex activity as if they were managing a small family restaurant.
Also responsibility is shared by authorities responsible for the maintenance of all aeronautical infrastructure(such airport, radionavigation facilities etc),that in many cases don't meet minimum safety standard or reliability,
In the other hand,it is not fair to evaluate and stigmatize all carriers making generalization while in the other hand putting aside other for the only fact that it is a flag carrier,not knowing it also have similar problem but in a different way.

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irishsirenJan 10th, 2007 - 17:26:44

Over 100 people are killed on American roads every day.

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RelativeJan 11th, 2007 - 09:26:32

irishsirenJan 10th, 2007 - 17:26:44

Over 100 people are killed on American roads every day.
===============

And that makes over 100 people toooooooo much...

Would you react same if one of your relatives had been flying in this plane?
Would you react same if one of your relatives had been one of those 'over 100 people'?

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BE OUTRAGED!Jan 12th, 2007 - 09:44:37

Let's just hope SBYs investigation get's enough media coverage to keep Transport Safey in the headlines long enough to make it an ongoing topic.

People here in Indo should be outraged.

If the States had the same transport issues & environment as Indonesia - 10,000 people would die in transport accidents!

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XYJan 22nd, 2007 - 06:01:33

Penalver summary is well said and correct. However, the problem is far greater and insidious. My experience is observing pilots with years and thousands of hours making questionable decisions and judgements repetitivly. Breathtakingly loss of spatial orientation and awareness of what is going on around them is only exceeded by their myopic view of a singular task at hand and their inability to ask for help. I have observed their willingness to fly through heavy rain and thunderstorms on their descent and arrival to the runway. Why? One needs to ask them. Do not really know what goes through their minds. Have heard many 'excuses' and theories. All I will say..... it is mind boggling.

The corruption is far greater than anybody can imagine. ICAO knows and understands, but political pressure will never allow the problem to be fixed. The corruption of the airlines is only exceeded by the regulatory agency tasked with overseeing the airlines under their control.

Pilots can help fix the problem, but alas they are just as much to blame as anyone else. Few will ever stand up and say ... 'This is wrong, or unsafe.' The fear of losing their jobs makes them the final line of defense untenable. It is the norm for flight and cabin crew members to exceed their duty and flight time limits. Why? Simply, they fear losing their jobs.

Companies gets away with it by running two sets of books. Any investigation could easily break through the code, but again, corruption rules the day.

Good article that got me going and I apologize for being long... Just felt like venting. Want to scream, but alas no one really cares, no one wants to listen and there is not a d@#n thing anybody will or can do.

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