Plea for Garuda air crash pilot to be acquitted

Stephen Fitzpatrick
Jakarta correspondent April 06, 2009
The Australian


INDONESIA'S pilots federation has issued an urgent plea for former Garuda captain Marwoto Komar to be acquitted, more than two years after the Yogyakarta air disaster that killed 21 people, including five Australians.
A verdict is expected today in the case against Captain Marwoto, who is charged with criminal negligence in crashing the aircraft on March 7, 2007.
Australian Federal Police officers Brice Steele and Mark Scott, AusAID country head Allison Sudradjat, Australian embassy public relations staffer Elizabeth O'Neill and Australian Financial Review journalist Morgan Mellish died in the crash.
Sydney Morning Herald reporter Cynthia Banham was seriously injured.
The Australians were all travelling to the central Java city in connection with a visit there by then foreign minister Alexander Downer.
Family members and friends of the victims plan to be in the court for today's verdict. Prosecutors had initially asked for a maximum penalty of life in prison, arguing that Captain Marwoto deliberately crashed the Boeing 737-400, causing it to burst into flames after running off the end of the runway at Yogyakarta's Adisucipto airport.
However, they downgraded that charge towards the end of the trial, conceding they did not have enough evidence, and have settled on the lesser one of negligence, carrying a maximum penalty of seven years' prison.
But Manotar Napitupulu, from the Indonesian Pilots Federation, told The Australian it was already "a heavy enough penalty" that Captain Marwoto had had his pilot's licence revoked, and insisted any further sanctions should come from the transport department or from Garuda.
"We hope he will be set free, not jailed, that's clear," Captain Napitupulu said. "We view this as a matter that should not be a criminal issue, since if there's an error it should be dealt with by the Transport Ministry or by the relevant airline company.
"His licence has been revoked, that's the heaviest penalty possible for a pilot, there's nothing above that - so we hope the judges have the conscience andknowledge to set him free."
Captain Marwoto, who attempted to land the early-morning commuter jet at twice the allowable speed, has variously claimed weather conditions and mechanical failure were the cause of the crash.
However, accident safety investigators found that he knew as early as 19km out from the landing that his "glide slope" was too steep for a safe landing, but he refused to correct his approach.
Although much has been made of the fact he apparently ignored 15 last-minute automated cockpit warnings as the aircraft approached the runway, prosecutors have argued he should have been able to avoid the crash simply by following standard procedure at least 10 minutes earlier.
Co-pilot Gagam Rachmat, who initially said he had urged his captain to "go around" as they approached the runway at 221 knots - rather than the correct speed, 140 knots - also changed his evidence on the stand.
Under questioning last year by the prosecution and by Captain Marwoto's lawyers, Captain Gagam declared that he had "blacked out" as the plane hit the runway and no longer remembered anything of the crash.
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