Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

New push to jail pilot in Yogyakarta crash

TOM ALLARD
SMH January 12, 2010

PROSECUTORS will try to get the conviction and prison sentence reinstated for the Garuda pilot at the controls of a plane that crashed at Yogyakarta's airport, killing 21 people, including five Australians.
Australian embassy officials in Jakarta confirmed the fresh appeal yesterday but declined to comment on whether it was the result of pressure from Australia.
Marwoto Komar originally received a two-year sentence last April after being found guilty of criminal negligence.
He successfully appealed against the verdict last month, which caused outrage from the families of the victims, including Australian Financial Review journalist Morgan Mellish, federal police officers Brice Steele and Mark Scott, AusAID official Alison Sudrajat and diplomat Liz O'Neill.
''I'm really surprised. I thought the case was done and dusted,'' said Caroline Mellish, the sister of Morgan Mellish, yesterday.
She said pursuing Captain Marwoto was important to ensure the spotlight was shed on Indonesian air safety standards, as much as justice for those badly injured in the accident and the loved ones of those who died.
''You would hope other pilots would think twice about their actions and that Garuda itself would take some responsibility.''
Immediately before the crash in 2007, Captain Marwoto ignored 15 automated warnings to abort the landing as the jet approached the runway at twice the recommended speed.
At first he said poor weather was responsible for the incident but changed his story to blame mechanical problems.
The initial guilty verdict found fault with him for not alerting airport authorities and fire crews about an impending disaster.
The Boeing 737 slammed into the runway and skidded into a rice field before exploding.
Captain Marwoto's successful appeal meant he was allowed to fly again although Garuda said he would not be reinstated.

Monday, January 11, 2010

Appeal lodged after fatal Garuda pilot acquitted

From correspondents in Jakarta: AAP
January 11, 2010 4:17PM


INDONESIAN prosecutors have lodged their appeal against a court's decision to quash the conviction of the Garuda pilot whose plane crashed, killing 21 people, including five Australians.
Marwoto Komar was found guilty of criminal negligence and sentenced to two years' jail over the 2007 crash at Yogyakarta airport.
But the Yogyakarta High Court last month overturned Mr Komar's conviction and ordered he be released from all charges.
Prosecutors have now appealed to Indonesia's Supreme Court in a bid to have the pilot's conviction and jail term reinstated.
Mr Komar was flying a Boeing 737 which slammed onto the runway at Yogyakarta airport, careered into a field and exploded in flames on March 7, 2007.
Five Australians were killed in the crash: diplomat Liz O'Neill, AusAID official Allison Sudradjat, Australian Federal Police officers Brice Steele and Mark Scott, and Australian Financial Review journalist Morgan Mellish.
Investigators have argued Mr Komar ignored a series of warnings not to land the plane as he brought it in at about twice the safe speed.
Mr Komar has blamed the disaster on mechanical problems.

Indonesia prosecutors appeal Garuda pilot acquittal

Mon Jan 11, 3:46 am
JAKARTA (AFP)

Indonesian prosecutors have appealed against a court's decision to overturn the conviction of a Garuda Indonesia pilot who crashed a passenger jet, killing 21 people, a spokesman said Monday.
The high court last month quashed an earlier two-year prison sentence against pilot Marwoto Komar, saying he "tried his best" to save the Boeing 737 which crashed on landing in Yogyakarta, central Java, in 2007.
"There's an error in interpretation of the law by the high court. By freeing him it's like saying the incident never took place," Yogyakarta prosecutors office spokesman Fora Noenoehitoe told AFP.
"We maintain our position that he should be jailed."
The plane hit the tarmac at twice the recommended landing speed and speared into neighbouring rice fields before bursting into flames.
Komar says faulty wing flaps were to blame for the jet's excessive airspeed as it came in to land. He also blamed the condition of the runway and poor safety standards at Yogyakarta airport for the number of casualties.
A safety investigation report however found he had ignored 15 automatic warnings that his approach speed was too fast.
Five Australians -- a diplomat, an aid official, two police officers and a journalist who were following then-Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer on an official visit -- were among the dead.
The European Union banned all Indonesian airlines from its airspace in June 2007 due to safety concerns after a spate of accidents. The ban was lifted in July 2009 for four airlines, including Garuda.
Komar has said he plans to return to flying for Garuda, the national carrier which is hoping to raise hundreds of millions of dollars in a public share offering this year.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Three Years

♥♥ When your brother dies, your childhood fades,
there being one less person to remember it with...
It's like losing your computer and there's no back-up ♥♥
Garrison Keillor