Garuda crash plane speeding

AAP - A CRASH investigator's report reveals a Garuda Boeing 737 was
travelling at 410km/h, nearly double the normal landing speed, when it
slammed into Yogyakarta Airport's runway last month.

Twenty one people were killed while 119 passengers and crew survived after
the plane bounced and burst into flames, the confidential report says.

The report, which Indonesian authorities are trying to suppress, indicates
pilot error was the cause of the crash.

Speed and flap warnings would have been sounding in the cockpit and the
pilots should have aborted the landing and gone around, aviation experts
said.

The preliminary report of Indonesia's transport safety committee contains
all the technical details of the crash but makes no final analysis.

However, having ruled out mechanical faults, investigators are focusing on
pilot error and possible charges against Captain Marwoto Komar and his
co-pilot, Gagam Rohman.

The report reveals Yogyakarta's runway does not meet international safety
standards and the safety run-off is only a quarter of the recommended
length.

The pilots reported a fault in the reverse thrust of one of the engines
before takeoff.

Cockpit data recordings revealed no mechanical problems before the crash and
the weather was calm, contradicting the pilot's claims of a massive
downdraft.

The report says fire engines and rescue vehicles were unable to reach the
crash site quickly and were not properly equipped.

Indonesian Transport Minister Hatta Radjasa has tried to block the release
of the "preliminary factual aircraft incident report".

**************

Plane Crash Clues Revealed

A passenger jet was travelling well above the normal landing speed when it
crashed and burst into flames, killing 21 people.

The Boeing 737-400 overshot the runway - which did not meet safety standards
- and skidded into a rice field at Yogyakarta airport, Indonesia.

More than 100 people managed to escape from the inferno.

Chief investigator Marjono Siswosuwarno said the plane was flying at up to
264 mph, almost double the normal landing speed, when it crash-landed last
month.

He said: "The plane was flying well above the normal landing speed of 160
mph when it crash-landed.

"We are still interrogating the pilots to figure out why this happened ...
we haven't determined yet if it was pilot error."

Siswosuwarno put the speed as the plane approached the runway at between 255
mph and 264 mph.

The Sydney Morning Herald said aviation experts confirmed that speed and
flap warnings would have sounded in the cockpit and the pilot should have
aborted the landing.

The paper says it has obtained a copy of the confidential Transport Safety
Committee report.

It claimed the airport runaway also did not meet international safety
standards, with a "safety run-off" a quarter of the recommended length.

Weather was also good despite claims by pilots of a serious downdraft.

The March 7 crash was the fourth accident involving a commercial jetliner in
Indonesia since 2005.

Experts say poor maintenance, rule-bending and a shortage of properly
trained pilots may contribute to the sprawling country's poor safety record.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30200-1259616,00.html