Safety slammed a year since Garuda crash

SMH, March 7, 2008
The sister of an Australian who died in the Garuda plane crash in Indonesia one year ago says recommendations to improve safety still have not been introduced.
The five Australians killed when the Boeing 737 overshot the runway then exploded in flames at Yogyakarta airport will be remembered in a ceremony at the Australian embassy in Jakarta.
Caroline Mellish, the sister of Australian Financial Review journalist Morgan Mellish, expressed disappointment Indonesian authorities had not moved to improve airline safety.
"The investigation itself, I believe, has been thorough," she told the Nine Network.
"Unfortunately, I don't think any of the recommendations have been followed through with in terms of extending the runway or pilot education."
Ms Mellish called for the introduction of a worldwide airline safety rating system.
"In a basic form, it would be a rating for all aviation issues - like safety, pilot safety records, even just the ratings of the planes - so people know which airline is the safest."
"Like a rating out of 10 or a star rating.
"At the moment, we just assume they are all relatively safe and no one really knows who is flying the plane or if the airline is, in fact, itself safe."
A final report into the accident by Indonesia's National Transport Safety Committee found the pilot was so fixated with landing he had ignored 15 alarms warning he was descending too rapidly.
Police in Yogyakarta last month arrested Marwoto Komar, and he has quit after an ultimatum from the airline to resign or be sacked.
He is believed to be the first pilot to face criminal charges over a crash in Indonesia.
Ms Mellish said she would mark the day by reflecting on the time she had with her brother and remembering his life.
She had avoided watching footage of the plane crash.
"I try not to focus on how he died, so I don't really see the need to see the footage," she said.
"At the moment, I like to think it wasn't as bad as perhaps it was and if I was to see the footage it would be, sort of, a stark reality of how bad the actual situation was."
Australian Federal Police officer Mark Scott, his colleague Brice Steele, diplomat Liz O'Neill and AusAID official Allison Sudradjat also died in the crash that killed 21 people.
They were part of a group of Australian journalists and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) staff taking part in a tour of Indonesia by then foreign minister Alexander Downer
AAP