Indonesia retrieves crashed Sriwijaya Air plane's flight data recorder
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[January 12, 2021]
By Agustinus Beo Da Costa and Fransiska Nangoy
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian divers on
Tuesday retrieved from the sea bed the flight data recorder (FDR) of a
Sriwijaya Air plane that crashed into the Java Sea with 62 people on
board at the weekend, officials said.
Divers had also found a separate radio beacon, raising hopes that the
cockpit voice recorder (CVR) it was connected to could soon be found and
reveal what caused the plane to lose control moments after takeoff.
"We are sure that, because the beacon that was attached to the cockpit
voice recorder was also found around the area, so with high confidence,
the cockpit voice recorder will soon be found," military chief Hadi
Tjahjanto said at a news conference.
With few immediate clues on what happened after takeoff, investigators
will rely heavily on the flight recorders to determine what went wrong.
The Boeing 737-500 plane plunged into the sea on Saturday, four minutes
after it departed from Jakarta's main airport and disappeared off radar
screens.
It was the second major air crash in Indonesia since 189 people were
killed in 2018 when a Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX plunged into the Java Sea
soon after taking off from Jakarta. The jet that crashed on Saturday was
of a largely different design.
The National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) expects to download
the FDR data within two to five days, its chief Soerjanto Tjahjono said.
'UNVEIL THE MYSTERY'
"Hopefully we will be able to unveil the mystery of what caused this
accident ... so this becomes a lesson for all of us to avoid this in the
future," Soerjanto said.
Earlier on Tuesday, more human remains were found at the crash site, as
well as personal effects, such as wallets containing identification
cards.
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A National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) official holds a
part of the retrieved black box of Sriwijaya Air flight SJ 182,
which crashed into the sea at the weekend off the Jakarta coast, in
Jakarta, Indonesia, January 12, 2021. REUTERS/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana
The plane had been headed to Pontianak on Borneo island, about 740
km (460 miles) from Jakarta.
The KNKT's initial findings showed the plane's engine was running
when it hit the water, based on jet parts retrieved from the sea.
"The damage on the fan blade showed that the engine was still
working on impact. This is consistent with the hypothesis that the
plane's system was still working at 250 feet altitude," Soerjanto
said.
Indonesia's transport ministry said earlier on Tuesday the jet,
which was grounded during the early months of the coronavirus
pandemic, had passed an airworthiness inspection on Dec. 14 and had
returned to service shortly after.
The Sriwijaya Air plane was nearly 27 years old, much older than
Boeing's problem-plagued 737 MAX model.
Older 737 models are widely flown and do not have the
stall-prevention system implicated in the MAX safety crisis.
(Additional reporting by Tabita Diela; Writing by Ed Davies and
Gayatri Suroyo; Editing by Martin Petty and Bernadette Baum)
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