Garuda pilot trial to begin amid controversy

ABC News
By Indonesia correspondent Geoff Thompson

The criminal trial of the pilot who crashed a Garuda plane in Yogyakarta last year begins today, despite criticism from the International Federation of Airline Pilots Associations.
On March 7 last year Garuda Flight 200 crashed and burned at Yogyakarta Airport, killing 21 people, including five Australians.
An Indonesian police investigation led to a trial beginning today in which pilot Marwoto Komar is accused of causing the death by deliberately destroying a plane.
If found guilty of this charge he could be sentenced to life imprisonment.
The Pilots Association executive vice-president and Qantas pilot, Captain Richard Woodward, says the reasons why Marwoto Komar ignored 15 automated warnings to land at almost twice the normal speed have not yet been established.
"There's obviously something wrong there and in our view no one has determined why that's the case," he said.
Other charges allege the pilot caused death through criminal negligence.