Monday, June 23, 2008
Yogyakarta airport unlicensed at time of crash
Mon Jun 23, 2008
ABC/Reuters
Indonesia's Yogyakarta airport was operating without a licence due to outstanding safety issues when a Garuda plane crashed last year, killing 21 people, an Australian air safety firm has found.
Flight Safety Pty Ltd, which carried out an audit of the airport following a request from an unnamed client, said authorities had failed to implement five conditions for a licence, including extending the runway and safety area.
State carrier Garuda's Boeing 737, with 140 people on board, bounced and skidded off the runway in Yogyakarta, central Java, before bursting into flames in a rice field in March 2007.
Five Australians were killed in the crash.
The aviation safety firm said Yogyakarta's operating licence had ended on August 1, 2006 - eight months before the crash - because it had failed to fulfil the five conditions for the five-year licence issued by Indonesian authorities.
An Indonesian safety official denied the airport was functioning without a licence.
"At that time [the licence] was still valid, but the RESA [Runway End Safety Area] was not long enough," Mardjono Siswo Suwarno of the National Transport Safety Committee said.
"But still in the [Garuda] case, even if the RESA length was adequate, the plane would have still overrun because the speed was 1.8 times normal speed."
Last year, an Indonesian safety report said the pilot ignored 15 warnings as he descended too fast, but declined to attribute the crash to "human error" or "pilot error".
The final report into the crash concluded that airport deficiencies were not responsible for the accident, although investigators concede that an adequate safety run-off area and adequate safety equipment may have reduced the human cost.
Most alarmingly however, more than a year after the crash, Yogyakarta's runway end safety area still has not been extended as required and the correct safety equipment has not been supplied.
In February this year, the pilot was arrested on charges that include manslaughter and violating aviation laws.
Brisbane-based Flight Safety owner Colin Weir also accuses the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and Indonesian authorities of being compromised because they are keeping quiet about the issue.
He says the ATSB was not aware that Yogyakarta airport was unlicensed at the time of the Garuda crash, but the ATSB says not complying with Annexe 14 amounts to the same thing.
"If there is another overrun on that airport, the same thing is going to happen. It is an absolutely untenable thing in terms of safety," he said.
"The issue here is the fact that the licence itself was null and void, now that has implications for the accident and the victims of the accident.
"They would need to know - and I think from a closure point of view - it's only fair to give everybody the opportunity to get all the information that's sitting in the background.
"In this case, because the airport's licence was in fact not current, there could be legal and insurance implications that they would want to pursue."
Airport audit
Flight Safety said it was called on by a client to audit Garuda after the crash, which led it to audit Yogyakarta, Solo and Semarang airports. It found that all three airports at the time were operating without a licence.
"When we looked at these airports we discovered that the licensing, the Airport Operating Certificate, had been issued for five years but subject to five conditions and these conditions had to be fulfilled within a 12-month period," Mr Weir said.
"The conditions included extension of the runway and safety area and that there be an audit by the DGCA [Indonesian Regulatory Authority] after six months, with a final cross check audit after 12 months.
"None of this was done in the 12-month period and that period lapsed on the August 1, 2006. When the Garuda accident happened these conditions had not been fulfilled and therefore the licence becomes null and void."
Mr Weir said Flight Safety notified the ICAO, the ATSB which helped investigate the Yogyakarta crash, and the director of Indonesia's Aviation Safety body.
"We were then told by the Indonesian director of Aviation Safety that the deficiencies had been rectified, however we have just conducted a re-audit only to find that there is no change to Solo and Yogyakarta," he said, adding that he has since been told by the director that "all conditions had been fulfilled".
"They might have changed those conditions now to make it legal, but at the time of the accident we have the audit report to show that what we are saying is 100 per cent correct."
'Old issues'
The Australian Financial Review's Indonesia correspondent, Morgan Mellish, was one of the Australians killed in the crash.
Caroline Mellish is his sister and she says she has accepted a payout from Garuda and signed an agreement preventing her from taking further legal action.
"It angers me to the point where it's obvious that the issues in regards to the runway in particular were not known previously, and they had a set time-frame to rectify them," she said.
"These weren't new issues at all, as in fact we thought they might be, they were old issues that were already known and not fixed.
"So it was even more so a preventable accident, which is makes me angry and sad."
'No problems'
Budi Mulyawan Suyitno, director general of air transportation at Indonesia's transportation ministry, has told ABC radio's PM program that directions had been given but local authorities did not have the budget to implement the recommendations.
But he also said there did not appear to be a problem with Yogyakarta's licence.
"We don't see there's any licence problem [for Yogyakarta], but I will check again," he said, adding that authorities had been responding to safety concerns by declaring a RESA for 140 metres of the 2,250 metre runway and adding fire trucks.
Rapid growth in air travel in Indonesia has raised questions over whether safety has been compromised and whether the infrastructure and personnel can cope with the huge increase.
- ABC/Reuters
ABC/Reuters
Indonesia's Yogyakarta airport was operating without a licence due to outstanding safety issues when a Garuda plane crashed last year, killing 21 people, an Australian air safety firm has found.
Flight Safety Pty Ltd, which carried out an audit of the airport following a request from an unnamed client, said authorities had failed to implement five conditions for a licence, including extending the runway and safety area.
State carrier Garuda's Boeing 737, with 140 people on board, bounced and skidded off the runway in Yogyakarta, central Java, before bursting into flames in a rice field in March 2007.
Five Australians were killed in the crash.
The aviation safety firm said Yogyakarta's operating licence had ended on August 1, 2006 - eight months before the crash - because it had failed to fulfil the five conditions for the five-year licence issued by Indonesian authorities.
An Indonesian safety official denied the airport was functioning without a licence.
"At that time [the licence] was still valid, but the RESA [Runway End Safety Area] was not long enough," Mardjono Siswo Suwarno of the National Transport Safety Committee said.
"But still in the [Garuda] case, even if the RESA length was adequate, the plane would have still overrun because the speed was 1.8 times normal speed."
Last year, an Indonesian safety report said the pilot ignored 15 warnings as he descended too fast, but declined to attribute the crash to "human error" or "pilot error".
The final report into the crash concluded that airport deficiencies were not responsible for the accident, although investigators concede that an adequate safety run-off area and adequate safety equipment may have reduced the human cost.
Most alarmingly however, more than a year after the crash, Yogyakarta's runway end safety area still has not been extended as required and the correct safety equipment has not been supplied.
In February this year, the pilot was arrested on charges that include manslaughter and violating aviation laws.
Brisbane-based Flight Safety owner Colin Weir also accuses the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and Indonesian authorities of being compromised because they are keeping quiet about the issue.
He says the ATSB was not aware that Yogyakarta airport was unlicensed at the time of the Garuda crash, but the ATSB says not complying with Annexe 14 amounts to the same thing.
"If there is another overrun on that airport, the same thing is going to happen. It is an absolutely untenable thing in terms of safety," he said.
"The issue here is the fact that the licence itself was null and void, now that has implications for the accident and the victims of the accident.
"They would need to know - and I think from a closure point of view - it's only fair to give everybody the opportunity to get all the information that's sitting in the background.
"In this case, because the airport's licence was in fact not current, there could be legal and insurance implications that they would want to pursue."
Airport audit
Flight Safety said it was called on by a client to audit Garuda after the crash, which led it to audit Yogyakarta, Solo and Semarang airports. It found that all three airports at the time were operating without a licence.
"When we looked at these airports we discovered that the licensing, the Airport Operating Certificate, had been issued for five years but subject to five conditions and these conditions had to be fulfilled within a 12-month period," Mr Weir said.
"The conditions included extension of the runway and safety area and that there be an audit by the DGCA [Indonesian Regulatory Authority] after six months, with a final cross check audit after 12 months.
"None of this was done in the 12-month period and that period lapsed on the August 1, 2006. When the Garuda accident happened these conditions had not been fulfilled and therefore the licence becomes null and void."
Mr Weir said Flight Safety notified the ICAO, the ATSB which helped investigate the Yogyakarta crash, and the director of Indonesia's Aviation Safety body.
"We were then told by the Indonesian director of Aviation Safety that the deficiencies had been rectified, however we have just conducted a re-audit only to find that there is no change to Solo and Yogyakarta," he said, adding that he has since been told by the director that "all conditions had been fulfilled".
"They might have changed those conditions now to make it legal, but at the time of the accident we have the audit report to show that what we are saying is 100 per cent correct."
'Old issues'
The Australian Financial Review's Indonesia correspondent, Morgan Mellish, was one of the Australians killed in the crash.
Caroline Mellish is his sister and she says she has accepted a payout from Garuda and signed an agreement preventing her from taking further legal action.
"It angers me to the point where it's obvious that the issues in regards to the runway in particular were not known previously, and they had a set time-frame to rectify them," she said.
"These weren't new issues at all, as in fact we thought they might be, they were old issues that were already known and not fixed.
"So it was even more so a preventable accident, which is makes me angry and sad."
'No problems'
Budi Mulyawan Suyitno, director general of air transportation at Indonesia's transportation ministry, has told ABC radio's PM program that directions had been given but local authorities did not have the budget to implement the recommendations.
But he also said there did not appear to be a problem with Yogyakarta's licence.
"We don't see there's any licence problem [for Yogyakarta], but I will check again," he said, adding that authorities had been responding to safety concerns by declaring a RESA for 140 metres of the 2,250 metre runway and adding fire trucks.
Rapid growth in air travel in Indonesia has raised questions over whether safety has been compromised and whether the infrastructure and personnel can cope with the huge increase.
- ABC/Reuters
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club
JFCC launches Morgan Mellish Fund
The JFCC is proud to announce the launching of the Morgan Mellish Fund to train Indonesian journalists in business and economics. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd inaugurated the memorial fund on Friday June 13th.
Morgan Mellish* was the correspondent for the Australian Economic Review who died at age 36 on March 7, 2007 in the Garuda airline crash in Yogyakarta. He was among 21 people to loose their lives that day.
Morgan was awarded Australia''''s most prestigious journalism award, the Walkley, in 2006 for outstanding reporting. His story "The Robert Gerard Tax Scandal" was honored with the best Business Journalism award.
The Morgan Mellish Memorial Fund seeks to enhance Indonesian journalism in ways and encourage the spirit of bold inquisitiveness that made Morgan stand out.
The fund aims to put 20 students a year through courses that will enhance their reporting skills and bolster free and fair media It will be overseen by the JFCC''''s elected committee of eight journalists.
The JFCC has two other scholarships, the Sander Thoenes and Harry Burton funds, also in remembrance of former members who died during the course of their work.
Our work can only happen with the help of donations, so please be generous!
Transfer a donation to the JFCC in the name of the Morgan Mellish Fund
ANZ Panin Bank
Panin Bank Centre
Jl. Jend. Sudirman
Account Nr. 506923-00001
Send inquiries to: director@jfcc.info
*Morgan Mellish
Morgan Mellish was 36 years old when he died in the crash of Garuda Flight GA200 in Yogyakarta on March 7, 2007, one of 21 people to loose their lives that morning.
A talented journalist and lover of life, Morgan had been in Jakarta for just over a year, posted as The Australian Financial Review''s bureau chief.
Becoming a foreign correspondent was one of Morgan''s two professional aims; the other was winning a Walkley, Australia''s most prestigious journalism award. He achieved both in the same year; the latter for his revelations about the appointment of Liberal Party donor Robert Gerard to the Reserve Bank board.
Laid-back and with a cheeky grin, Morgan took his work extremely seriously, but that didnÃÕ hold back his adventurous side. He took full advantage of IndonesiaÃÔ vast outdoors, hiking, mountain biking, and his true passion: surfing.
His networks were broad, ranging from business leaders to politicians to other amateur athletes. It is still impossible to go for a surf at his favourite West Java break, Cimaja, without having other surfers - - both local and foreign - - asking after him. Indeed, some of Morgan''s ashes were scattered in those waters.
Morgan also had in spades the reporter''s knack for posing tough questions.
"Sometimes asking the most obvious and stupid things gets the best and least expected answers," he liked to say. "Don''t be afraid to sound like an idiot."
The Morgan Mellish Memorial Fund is intended to help enhance Indonesian journalism in ways that will encourage precisely that spirit of bold inquisitiveness.
The JFCC is proud to announce the launching of the Morgan Mellish Fund to train Indonesian journalists in business and economics. Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd inaugurated the memorial fund on Friday June 13th.
Morgan Mellish* was the correspondent for the Australian Economic Review who died at age 36 on March 7, 2007 in the Garuda airline crash in Yogyakarta. He was among 21 people to loose their lives that day.
Morgan was awarded Australia''''s most prestigious journalism award, the Walkley, in 2006 for outstanding reporting. His story "The Robert Gerard Tax Scandal" was honored with the best Business Journalism award.
The Morgan Mellish Memorial Fund seeks to enhance Indonesian journalism in ways and encourage the spirit of bold inquisitiveness that made Morgan stand out.
The fund aims to put 20 students a year through courses that will enhance their reporting skills and bolster free and fair media It will be overseen by the JFCC''''s elected committee of eight journalists.
The JFCC has two other scholarships, the Sander Thoenes and Harry Burton funds, also in remembrance of former members who died during the course of their work.
Our work can only happen with the help of donations, so please be generous!
Transfer a donation to the JFCC in the name of the Morgan Mellish Fund
ANZ Panin Bank
Panin Bank Centre
Jl. Jend. Sudirman
Account Nr. 506923-00001
Send inquiries to: director@jfcc.info
*Morgan Mellish
Morgan Mellish was 36 years old when he died in the crash of Garuda Flight GA200 in Yogyakarta on March 7, 2007, one of 21 people to loose their lives that morning.
A talented journalist and lover of life, Morgan had been in Jakarta for just over a year, posted as The Australian Financial Review''s bureau chief.
Becoming a foreign correspondent was one of Morgan''s two professional aims; the other was winning a Walkley, Australia''s most prestigious journalism award. He achieved both in the same year; the latter for his revelations about the appointment of Liberal Party donor Robert Gerard to the Reserve Bank board.
Laid-back and with a cheeky grin, Morgan took his work extremely seriously, but that didnÃÕ hold back his adventurous side. He took full advantage of IndonesiaÃÔ vast outdoors, hiking, mountain biking, and his true passion: surfing.
His networks were broad, ranging from business leaders to politicians to other amateur athletes. It is still impossible to go for a surf at his favourite West Java break, Cimaja, without having other surfers - - both local and foreign - - asking after him. Indeed, some of Morgan''s ashes were scattered in those waters.
Morgan also had in spades the reporter''s knack for posing tough questions.
"Sometimes asking the most obvious and stupid things gets the best and least expected answers," he liked to say. "Don''t be afraid to sound like an idiot."
The Morgan Mellish Memorial Fund is intended to help enhance Indonesian journalism in ways that will encourage precisely that spirit of bold inquisitiveness.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Memorial fund to train reporters
Mark Forbes Herald Correspondent in Jakarta
SMH, June 14, 2008
THE Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, said he was proud to launch a fund in the memory of Morgan Mellish during his visit to Jakarta yesterday, stating the former correspondent was committed to great journalism and loved Indonesia.
Mr Mellish, 36, was one of five Australians who died when a Garuda jet crashed in Yogyakarta just over a year ago. A correspondent with The Australian Financial Review, he was covering a visit by the then foreign affairs minister, Alexander Downer.
The Morgan Mellish Fund, to be administered by the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club, will fund the training of up to 30 Indonesian journalists in financial reporting each year. "Morgan would have liked that," Mr Rudd said. "Morgan Mellish represented the finest traditions of Australian journalists and Australian foreign correspondents," he said.
Mr Rudd said Mr Mellish, the recipient of a Walkley Award, was on a path to "even greater heights when tragedy struck".
The foundation deserved support as it would strengthen media coverage and "a free press is the life blood of Australian democracy and Indonesian democracy", Mr Rudd said.
Mr Mellish's successor and JFCC spokesman, Angus Grigg, said the fund would seek "to enhance Indonesian journalism … and encourage the spirit of bold inquisitiveness that made Morgan stand out".
He said the fund would be available to all local journalists who wanted to improve their financial literacy.
"We want to use that tragedy and see something positive come out of it," he said.
A total of 21 people died when the Garuda Boeing 737 overshot the Yogyakarta runway on March 7, 2007. The pilot is likely to face criminal negligence charges later this month. He allegedly ignored 15 cockpit alarms warning him to abort the landing as he descended at twice the safe speed.
SMH, June 14, 2008
THE Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, said he was proud to launch a fund in the memory of Morgan Mellish during his visit to Jakarta yesterday, stating the former correspondent was committed to great journalism and loved Indonesia.
Mr Mellish, 36, was one of five Australians who died when a Garuda jet crashed in Yogyakarta just over a year ago. A correspondent with The Australian Financial Review, he was covering a visit by the then foreign affairs minister, Alexander Downer.
The Morgan Mellish Fund, to be administered by the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club, will fund the training of up to 30 Indonesian journalists in financial reporting each year. "Morgan would have liked that," Mr Rudd said. "Morgan Mellish represented the finest traditions of Australian journalists and Australian foreign correspondents," he said.
Mr Rudd said Mr Mellish, the recipient of a Walkley Award, was on a path to "even greater heights when tragedy struck".
The foundation deserved support as it would strengthen media coverage and "a free press is the life blood of Australian democracy and Indonesian democracy", Mr Rudd said.
Mr Mellish's successor and JFCC spokesman, Angus Grigg, said the fund would seek "to enhance Indonesian journalism … and encourage the spirit of bold inquisitiveness that made Morgan stand out".
He said the fund would be available to all local journalists who wanted to improve their financial literacy.
"We want to use that tragedy and see something positive come out of it," he said.
A total of 21 people died when the Garuda Boeing 737 overshot the Yogyakarta runway on March 7, 2007. The pilot is likely to face criminal negligence charges later this month. He allegedly ignored 15 cockpit alarms warning him to abort the landing as he descended at twice the safe speed.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Garuda crash pilot to face trial 'soon'
SMH, June 10, 2008
By Karen Michelmore in Jakarta, Indonesia
A former Garuda pilot at the helm of a plane that crashed in Indonesia killing 21 people including five Australians is "ready" to face trial, his lawyer says.
Yogyakarta police on Tuesday formally handed their 200-page case file to prosecutors, signalling the trial could start within weeks.
Captain Marwoto Komar, 45, is believed to be the first pilot to face criminal charges over a plane crash in Indonesia, which has a dismal aviation safety record.
He will face three charges of negligence over the crash of the Boeing 737 in Yogyakarta, in central Java, on March 7 last year.
Five Australians travelling to Yogyakarta for an official visit by then Foreign Minister Alexander Downer were among those killed when the jet overshot the runway after landing too fast, and burst into flames in a nearby field.
Marwoto, who visited the police and prosecutors' offices with his legal team on Tuesday, could face a maximum of seven years in jail if convicted.
"Today the documentation has been officially accepted by the prosecutor," Marwoto's lawyer Kamal Firdaus said.
"I suspect from this it will be two to three weeks until it is handed over to the court - that's the usual practice.
"Usually the first hearing is two weeks after that."
He believed it would be "difficult" for the prosecution to prove negligence and win the case.
"We are ready and it will be a very interesting legal case, so let's see what will happen in the court."
Yogyakarta Police chief detective Jovianes Mahar said the case file was more than 10 centimetres thick, and evidence would include plane debris and documents.
A final report by safety regulators said the pilot was so "fixated" with landing that he ignored 15 alarms and the pleas of his copilot warning that he was coming in too fast.
Marwoto's arrest in February shocked Indonesia's aviation community and sparked protests outside parliament demanding his release.
Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is expected to launch a charity in honour of one of the victims during his visit to Indonesia this week.
The Morgan Mellish Memorial Fund, named after the Australian Financial Review journalist who died in the crash, will provide financial literacy and basic economics training for Indonesian journalists.
By Karen Michelmore in Jakarta, Indonesia
A former Garuda pilot at the helm of a plane that crashed in Indonesia killing 21 people including five Australians is "ready" to face trial, his lawyer says.
Yogyakarta police on Tuesday formally handed their 200-page case file to prosecutors, signalling the trial could start within weeks.
Captain Marwoto Komar, 45, is believed to be the first pilot to face criminal charges over a plane crash in Indonesia, which has a dismal aviation safety record.
He will face three charges of negligence over the crash of the Boeing 737 in Yogyakarta, in central Java, on March 7 last year.
Five Australians travelling to Yogyakarta for an official visit by then Foreign Minister Alexander Downer were among those killed when the jet overshot the runway after landing too fast, and burst into flames in a nearby field.
Marwoto, who visited the police and prosecutors' offices with his legal team on Tuesday, could face a maximum of seven years in jail if convicted.
"Today the documentation has been officially accepted by the prosecutor," Marwoto's lawyer Kamal Firdaus said.
"I suspect from this it will be two to three weeks until it is handed over to the court - that's the usual practice.
"Usually the first hearing is two weeks after that."
He believed it would be "difficult" for the prosecution to prove negligence and win the case.
"We are ready and it will be a very interesting legal case, so let's see what will happen in the court."
Yogyakarta Police chief detective Jovianes Mahar said the case file was more than 10 centimetres thick, and evidence would include plane debris and documents.
A final report by safety regulators said the pilot was so "fixated" with landing that he ignored 15 alarms and the pleas of his copilot warning that he was coming in too fast.
Marwoto's arrest in February shocked Indonesia's aviation community and sparked protests outside parliament demanding his release.
Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is expected to launch a charity in honour of one of the victims during his visit to Indonesia this week.
The Morgan Mellish Memorial Fund, named after the Australian Financial Review journalist who died in the crash, will provide financial literacy and basic economics training for Indonesian journalists.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Defence chief's travel safety concern
Jonathan Pearlman
SMH, June 6, 2008
THE Chief of the Defence Force, Angus Houston, has called on the Government to use bigger jets for VIP travel to ensure that journalists do not have to fly on unsafe airlines in countries with poor aviation safety.
Media organisations have urged the Government to upgrade the Royal Australian Air Force planes since the Garuda crash in Indonesia last year, in which five Australians travelling for an official visit by Alexander Downer were killed.
Air Chief Marshal Houston has told a Senate committee "the 737 aircraft is too small" and the Government should buy or lease bigger VIP aircraft.
"It is imperative we look after our journalists in places where the airline standards are perhaps not as high as they are in our own country," he said. "I think it is fine if you are in Australia, but when you are travelling in many places around the world, there are concerns about certain carriers and their particular airworthiness and flying standards."
A spokesman for the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, said a plane had been chartered for journalists covering his upcoming visit to Japan and Indonesia.
"There has been some discussion for some time about the need to update the VIP fleet," Mr Rudd said. "No decision has yet been made."
Air Chief Marshal Houston said the Garuda crash had demonstrated the risks of continuing to use the current fleet.
SMH, June 6, 2008
THE Chief of the Defence Force, Angus Houston, has called on the Government to use bigger jets for VIP travel to ensure that journalists do not have to fly on unsafe airlines in countries with poor aviation safety.
Media organisations have urged the Government to upgrade the Royal Australian Air Force planes since the Garuda crash in Indonesia last year, in which five Australians travelling for an official visit by Alexander Downer were killed.
Air Chief Marshal Houston has told a Senate committee "the 737 aircraft is too small" and the Government should buy or lease bigger VIP aircraft.
"It is imperative we look after our journalists in places where the airline standards are perhaps not as high as they are in our own country," he said. "I think it is fine if you are in Australia, but when you are travelling in many places around the world, there are concerns about certain carriers and their particular airworthiness and flying standards."
A spokesman for the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, said a plane had been chartered for journalists covering his upcoming visit to Japan and Indonesia.
"There has been some discussion for some time about the need to update the VIP fleet," Mr Rudd said. "No decision has yet been made."
Air Chief Marshal Houston said the Garuda crash had demonstrated the risks of continuing to use the current fleet.
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