Stephen Fitzpatrick
Jakarta correspondent
March 30, 2009 The Australian
INDONESIAN business journalism training took a step forward last week with a workshop in the name of Morgan Mellish, The Australian Financial Review reporter who died in the 2007 Garuda air disaster in Yogyakarta.
The four-day program, entitled Financial Literacy for Journalists, was made possible with funds raised at a Jakarta lunch speech given by Kevin Rudd last year.
Jointly run by the Jakarta Foreign Correspondents Club and the Indonesian Association for Media Development, the program attracted a dozen reporters from the archipelago.
Over the four days they ran through an intensive series of sessions aimed at improving general news reporters' ability to make sense of balance sheets, government and company budgets and annual reports, and to tease out the crucial nexus between politics and business.
Launching the fund last June, the Prime Minister said the program's emphasis on financial analysis was something Mellish "would have liked. (He) represented the finest tradition of Australian journalists and Australian foreign correspondents".
Each participant in the program will now take skills covered in the course and apply them to a particular story, with examiners to assess the results.
One journalist, Bima Marzuki from RCTI television in Jakarta, said he planned to produce a series of reports on gaps in the government budget in Nusa Tenggara Timor province -- Indonesia's vast easternmost administrative district, which includes the islands of Sumba, Flores, Maluku and West Timor.
"What we have found is that the Government there allocates up to 80 per cent of its budgets for administrative costs -- things like public servants' uniforms -- and only 20 per cent to actual projects, education and so on," Marzuki said.
He added that journalistic independence was still difficult in Indonesia, particularly with a high level of editorial intervention by proprietors and an extremely low level of union organisation.
"Even where there is (union membership), a lot of pressure is usually applied by the owners," he said. "For instance, people are told that if they're a member of AJI (the main journalists' union), they won't receive salary bonuses, that kind of thing."
Other projects by participants in the Mellish fund included a story about a district head in Java who was directing his local government's budget towards funding the local professional football team, and regional development funding being spent on a major cigarette company's marketing and research budget.
Coincidentally, the previous week saw the wrapping-up for this year of the Elizabeth O'Neill Journalism Award -- a scholarship jointly run by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Australia Indonesia Institute.
O'Neill, who also died in the Garuda crash, worked in the Australian embassy's public affairs section in Jakarta, and was a vital linking point between the two countries' media outlets.
Winners of the 2009 award were The Australian Financial Review's Canberra-based reporter Sophie Morris, who spent a month in Indonesia meeting government, business and other leaders, and Kartika Sari, the foreign news editor of Jakarta newspaper Rakyat Merdeka, who travelled to Australia for a series of interviews.
The newspaper and the embassy had had a prickly relationship for a long time. But a long bout of diplomacy seems to have won Rakyat Merdeka over.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Garuda pilot 'should be jailed for four years'
Tom Allard in Jakarta
SMH February 24, 2009
THE pilot at the controls when a Garuda plane crashed in Yogyakarta killing 21 people, including five Australians, should be jailed for four years for causing the accident through criminal negligence, prosecutors have told a panel of judges.
The sentence request angered Captain Marwoto Komar's lawyers but was far less than the jail term prosecutors could have asked for if they had decided he had deliberately caused the crash on March 7, 2007. "The air at the time was clear, the runway was clear and no other plane was about to take off," prosecutors told Sleman District Court in Yogyakarta. "The defendant was not careful enough … [and] is legally and convincingly proven to have caused the death of 21 people and left 32 others with serious injuries."
Yesterday the court heard that on approach the plane was travelling at 240 knots, about twice the speed recommended for a safe landing. It also tried to land from 5000 feet, rather than the appropriate height of 4000 feet.
Despite being told twice by his co-pilot, Gagam Rohmana, to abort the landing and "go around", Komar ignored the warnings. Earlier, the court was told he also ignored more than a dozen automated warnings, including blaring sirens in the cockpit, before the crash.
Komar has insisted the crash was due to sudden turbulence. The court has heard evidence from air traffic controllers and meteorologists that there was no weather event detected to back the pilot's claim.
In his testimony last year, the co-pilot confirmed he had urged Komar to abandon the landing and try again. But, in sometimes contradictory evidence, he also said he blacked out before the accident, citing turbulence.
The crash caused an outpouring of emotion and concern in Australia, not least because it was the latest in a series of plane crashes in Indonesia. There have been no big accidents since but prosecutors have taken the unusual step of prosecuting Komar under the penal code, rather than its air transport laws.
His lawyers maintain it is improper for their client to be charged as a criminal under the penal code. "The prosecutors' spirit was only to punish the defendant," said Mohammad Assegaf, the main defence lawyer. "The article [in the penal code] was aimed at terrorists not at airplane crew. Besides, when a Garuda plane crashed down in the Bengawan Solo river in 2003, which caused one death and the plane was broken, why wasn't the pilot taken to the court - and he is still flying until today?"
The Australians killed were an AusAID official, Allison Sudradjat; the diplomat Liz O'Neill; federal police officers Brice Steele and Mark Scott, and the Australian Financial Review journalist Morgan Mellish. They were following the then foreign affairs minister, Alexander Downer, on a visit to Indonesia.
Mr Downer had earlier taken a government business jet to Yogyakarta, which was too small to fit the entourage.
If the judges agree with the prosecutors, Komar will serve less than four years in jail because the three months he has already spent in prison will be deducted from the sentence. The trial continues on March 10.
with Yuyuk Sugarman
SMH February 24, 2009
THE pilot at the controls when a Garuda plane crashed in Yogyakarta killing 21 people, including five Australians, should be jailed for four years for causing the accident through criminal negligence, prosecutors have told a panel of judges.
The sentence request angered Captain Marwoto Komar's lawyers but was far less than the jail term prosecutors could have asked for if they had decided he had deliberately caused the crash on March 7, 2007. "The air at the time was clear, the runway was clear and no other plane was about to take off," prosecutors told Sleman District Court in Yogyakarta. "The defendant was not careful enough … [and] is legally and convincingly proven to have caused the death of 21 people and left 32 others with serious injuries."
Yesterday the court heard that on approach the plane was travelling at 240 knots, about twice the speed recommended for a safe landing. It also tried to land from 5000 feet, rather than the appropriate height of 4000 feet.
Despite being told twice by his co-pilot, Gagam Rohmana, to abort the landing and "go around", Komar ignored the warnings. Earlier, the court was told he also ignored more than a dozen automated warnings, including blaring sirens in the cockpit, before the crash.
Komar has insisted the crash was due to sudden turbulence. The court has heard evidence from air traffic controllers and meteorologists that there was no weather event detected to back the pilot's claim.
In his testimony last year, the co-pilot confirmed he had urged Komar to abandon the landing and try again. But, in sometimes contradictory evidence, he also said he blacked out before the accident, citing turbulence.
The crash caused an outpouring of emotion and concern in Australia, not least because it was the latest in a series of plane crashes in Indonesia. There have been no big accidents since but prosecutors have taken the unusual step of prosecuting Komar under the penal code, rather than its air transport laws.
His lawyers maintain it is improper for their client to be charged as a criminal under the penal code. "The prosecutors' spirit was only to punish the defendant," said Mohammad Assegaf, the main defence lawyer. "The article [in the penal code] was aimed at terrorists not at airplane crew. Besides, when a Garuda plane crashed down in the Bengawan Solo river in 2003, which caused one death and the plane was broken, why wasn't the pilot taken to the court - and he is still flying until today?"
The Australians killed were an AusAID official, Allison Sudradjat; the diplomat Liz O'Neill; federal police officers Brice Steele and Mark Scott, and the Australian Financial Review journalist Morgan Mellish. They were following the then foreign affairs minister, Alexander Downer, on a visit to Indonesia.
Mr Downer had earlier taken a government business jet to Yogyakarta, which was too small to fit the entourage.
If the judges agree with the prosecutors, Komar will serve less than four years in jail because the three months he has already spent in prison will be deducted from the sentence. The trial continues on March 10.
with Yuyuk Sugarman
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Garuda horror relived in court
Mark Forbes in Yogyakarta
SMH, September 16, 2008
TALES of flames and pain flowed in a Yogyakarta courtroom yesterday as witnesses and survivors recounted last year's Garuda plane crash during the trial of the pilot Marwoto Komar.
A softly spoken rice farmer, Mr Sarwandi, spoke of seeing the Boeing 737 hurtling towards the end of the runway, before crashing through an airport fence and ploughing into his paddy field, stopping just 50 metres away.
The 37-year-old denies being a hero, but he ran towards the exploding wreckage to help. There he found the Herald's Cynthia Banham, her back broken and legs badly burned.
"She was mumbling, like in real pain," Mr Sarwandi said. "I saw her already laying on the rice field, so I dragged her away to a place far from the plane and then others helped her."
Mr Sarwandi returned three times to pull away less badly injured passengers, before officials ordered him to move to a safer place. The jet was unbalanced, moving "very fast" and appeared to be accelerating towards the end of the runway, he said.
Wearing his Garuda uniform, gold epaulets and winged pilot badge, Captain Komar sat beside his lawyers and aggressively cross-examined the rice farmer. Captain Komar said Mr Sarwandi lived too close to the airport: "Do you know that the location is actually prohibited for living?"
Mr Sarwandi replied he had permission from the airport authority, before one of Captain Komar's lawyers berated him about minor differences in his testimony and police statement - taken over a year ago.
A passenger, and professor of criminology at University of Indonesia, Adrianus Meliala, was given more respectful treatment. The plane was speeding and bouncing around on approach, but there was no warning of an emergency landing, he told the court. "The plane hit the runway but then it went up again. So I thought it wanted to fly again but then it went down again. It happened three times, but the third was the hardest. I was pushed to the front until my face hit the back side of the front seat and it broke my nose.
"People were in panic, they started running here and there," Professor Meliala said. "Some people were stepped on. I saw a queue at the left door but almost nobody at the right door.
"When I was in front of the right door I understood why nobody wanted to go from there, it was on fire. But then I decided to jump on the burning wing to slide down to the paddy field because the field has water."
The paddy water doused the flames, but Professor Meliala sustained second-degree burns to 70 per cent of his body.
Outside the plane several Garuda crew stood or sat. None offered assistance, he said. When the fire brigade arrived, it could not cross a fence line and its water spray failed to reach the burning plane, Professor Meliala said.
The hearing into the crash, which killed 21 people including five Australians, continues next week. Key witnesses, including the co-pilot who told Captain Komar to abort the landing, will appear later this month.
Captain Komar faces a potential life sentence for deliberately crashing the plane, or a shorter jail term if found guilty of negligent manslaughter. Pilot groups are opposing the case, claiming it is the first time a commercial pilot has faced criminal charges.
Air-safety investigators found the plane landed at nearly twice the safe speed, despite at least 15 cockpit alarms warning the pilot to pull up.
SMH, September 16, 2008
TALES of flames and pain flowed in a Yogyakarta courtroom yesterday as witnesses and survivors recounted last year's Garuda plane crash during the trial of the pilot Marwoto Komar.
A softly spoken rice farmer, Mr Sarwandi, spoke of seeing the Boeing 737 hurtling towards the end of the runway, before crashing through an airport fence and ploughing into his paddy field, stopping just 50 metres away.
The 37-year-old denies being a hero, but he ran towards the exploding wreckage to help. There he found the Herald's Cynthia Banham, her back broken and legs badly burned.
"She was mumbling, like in real pain," Mr Sarwandi said. "I saw her already laying on the rice field, so I dragged her away to a place far from the plane and then others helped her."
Mr Sarwandi returned three times to pull away less badly injured passengers, before officials ordered him to move to a safer place. The jet was unbalanced, moving "very fast" and appeared to be accelerating towards the end of the runway, he said.
Wearing his Garuda uniform, gold epaulets and winged pilot badge, Captain Komar sat beside his lawyers and aggressively cross-examined the rice farmer. Captain Komar said Mr Sarwandi lived too close to the airport: "Do you know that the location is actually prohibited for living?"
Mr Sarwandi replied he had permission from the airport authority, before one of Captain Komar's lawyers berated him about minor differences in his testimony and police statement - taken over a year ago.
A passenger, and professor of criminology at University of Indonesia, Adrianus Meliala, was given more respectful treatment. The plane was speeding and bouncing around on approach, but there was no warning of an emergency landing, he told the court. "The plane hit the runway but then it went up again. So I thought it wanted to fly again but then it went down again. It happened three times, but the third was the hardest. I was pushed to the front until my face hit the back side of the front seat and it broke my nose.
"People were in panic, they started running here and there," Professor Meliala said. "Some people were stepped on. I saw a queue at the left door but almost nobody at the right door.
"When I was in front of the right door I understood why nobody wanted to go from there, it was on fire. But then I decided to jump on the burning wing to slide down to the paddy field because the field has water."
The paddy water doused the flames, but Professor Meliala sustained second-degree burns to 70 per cent of his body.
Outside the plane several Garuda crew stood or sat. None offered assistance, he said. When the fire brigade arrived, it could not cross a fence line and its water spray failed to reach the burning plane, Professor Meliala said.
The hearing into the crash, which killed 21 people including five Australians, continues next week. Key witnesses, including the co-pilot who told Captain Komar to abort the landing, will appear later this month.
Captain Komar faces a potential life sentence for deliberately crashing the plane, or a shorter jail term if found guilty of negligent manslaughter. Pilot groups are opposing the case, claiming it is the first time a commercial pilot has faced criminal charges.
Air-safety investigators found the plane landed at nearly twice the safe speed, despite at least 15 cockpit alarms warning the pilot to pull up.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Pilot denies deliberately crashing
SMH, August 11, 2008
An Indonesian pilot pleaded not guilty today to deliberately crashing a passenger jet last year, killing 21 people including five Australians.
"It is impossible that with experience of 22 years as a pilot I would deliberately crash the plane," Marwoto Komar told a district court in Yogyakarta, Central Java.
"I didn't have any intention to carelessly do things to harm the passengers," he said, wearing his pilot's uniform.
With his voice trembling, he added: "God please allow me to fly again."
A government probe found Komar ignored 15 automated cockpit warnings not to land as he brought the plane in at roughly twice the safe speed, causing the jet to bounce and burst into flames in ricefields.
The four Australian government officials and journalist killed were following a visit by then Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer, who was on a separate plane.
Prosecutors last month charged Komar with three counts of negligence and one count of "deliberately" destroying or damaging an aircraft causing death, charges that carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Komar has had his pilot's licence suspended. He was sacked by Garuda in February.
Indonesia, which relies heavily on air links across the archipelago, has one of Asia's worst air safety records.
An Indonesian pilot pleaded not guilty today to deliberately crashing a passenger jet last year, killing 21 people including five Australians.
"It is impossible that with experience of 22 years as a pilot I would deliberately crash the plane," Marwoto Komar told a district court in Yogyakarta, Central Java.
"I didn't have any intention to carelessly do things to harm the passengers," he said, wearing his pilot's uniform.
With his voice trembling, he added: "God please allow me to fly again."
A government probe found Komar ignored 15 automated cockpit warnings not to land as he brought the plane in at roughly twice the safe speed, causing the jet to bounce and burst into flames in ricefields.
The four Australian government officials and journalist killed were following a visit by then Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer, who was on a separate plane.
Prosecutors last month charged Komar with three counts of negligence and one count of "deliberately" destroying or damaging an aircraft causing death, charges that carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Komar has had his pilot's licence suspended. He was sacked by Garuda in February.
Indonesia, which relies heavily on air links across the archipelago, has one of Asia's worst air safety records.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Yogyakarta crash pilot dreams of flying again
Mark Forbes Herald Correspondent in Denpasar
SMH July 25, 2008
A PILOT who failed to follow landing procedures and ignored his co-pilot's plea to abort, with their Boeing 737 "running wild", wants to fly again despite facing criminal negligence charges over the deaths of 21 people.
Marwoto Komar appeared in his full Garuda pilot's uniform at Sleman District Court yesterday, although he was sacked and his pilot's licence suspended after the crash in Yogyakarta in March 2007.
Telling reporters he felt a "deep mourning" for the families of the victims - who included five Australians - Komar said he wore the uniform because "I am a pilot". Asked if he hoped to fly again, he replied: "Of course, that is my life."
Prosecutors charged Komar with three counts of negligence and one of deliberately destroying or damaging an aircraft causing death, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Komar refused to comment on the accident, in which the jet touched down at nearly double the safe speed, crashed through the airport's fence and caught fire.
The prosecutor Mudim Aristo told a five-judge panel that Komar had ignored the landing calculations of his co-pilot, Gagam Rahman, then ignored repeated automated warnings to abort. "He deliberately force-landed the plane by diving down in a steep manner until the ground proximity warning system gave off a signal 'sink rate, whoop, whoop, pull up'," Mr Aristo said.
Komar had ignored a further 14 warnings and brought the plane into the sharp dive before overshooting the runway, he said.
■ AAP reports that the European Union has continued its ban on all Indonesian airlines flying into its air space because of safety concerns.
with Karuni Rompies
SMH July 25, 2008
A PILOT who failed to follow landing procedures and ignored his co-pilot's plea to abort, with their Boeing 737 "running wild", wants to fly again despite facing criminal negligence charges over the deaths of 21 people.
Marwoto Komar appeared in his full Garuda pilot's uniform at Sleman District Court yesterday, although he was sacked and his pilot's licence suspended after the crash in Yogyakarta in March 2007.
Telling reporters he felt a "deep mourning" for the families of the victims - who included five Australians - Komar said he wore the uniform because "I am a pilot". Asked if he hoped to fly again, he replied: "Of course, that is my life."
Prosecutors charged Komar with three counts of negligence and one of deliberately destroying or damaging an aircraft causing death, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Komar refused to comment on the accident, in which the jet touched down at nearly double the safe speed, crashed through the airport's fence and caught fire.
The prosecutor Mudim Aristo told a five-judge panel that Komar had ignored the landing calculations of his co-pilot, Gagam Rahman, then ignored repeated automated warnings to abort. "He deliberately force-landed the plane by diving down in a steep manner until the ground proximity warning system gave off a signal 'sink rate, whoop, whoop, pull up'," Mr Aristo said.
Komar had ignored a further 14 warnings and brought the plane into the sharp dive before overshooting the runway, he said.
■ AAP reports that the European Union has continued its ban on all Indonesian airlines flying into its air space because of safety concerns.
with Karuni Rompies
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Garuda pilot charged with causing crash
The Age July 24 2008
A Garuda pilot has been formally charged with deliberately causing a passenger plane to crash in Indonesia, killing 21 people including five Australians.
Captain Marwoto Komar, 46, was charged on Thursday at the opening of his trial at Yogyakarta in central Java, where the 21 victims lost their lives on March 7 last year.
Komar fronted the Slemen District Court in his pilot's uniform, despite resigning from Garuda after the airline gave him an ultimatum following the crash.
A copy of an indictment to be read to the court on Thursday says Komar ignored 15 alarms to abort the landing of the Boeing 737 at Yogyakarta's Adi Sucipto Airport.
It says co-pilot Gagam Samam Rohmana had calculated the plane should land at a speed of 140 knots, but when the aircraft hit the runway it was going at 240 knots.
Komar also ignored the pleas of Rohmana not to proceed with the landing, it says.
"The defendant deliberately forced the landing by putting the nose of the Garuda Boeing 737 ... steeply down, so that the ground proximity warning system gave the signal 'whoop whoop, pull up'," the indictment says.
"The (co-pilot) looked or stared to the left at the defendant but the defendant didn't try to lift up the plane or cancel the landing, or go around.
"The defendant didn't try to pull the control column or the plane's steering mechanism ... the defendant only wanted to reach the runway by making the plane dive extremely."
The ground proximity warning system sounded 15 times as the plane came in "but the defendant was still ignoring it", it says.
"When the defendant landed ... the plane speed was still 221 knots."
The plane bounced along the runway three times, snapping its front wheel.
It then careered off the end of the runway, across a street and hit a wall before erupting in flames, the indictment says.
Among the 21 killed were Australian diplomat Liz O'Neill, AusAID official Allison Sudradjat, Australian Federal Police Officers Brice Steele and Mark Scott, and Australian Financial Review journalist Morgan Mellish.
The five were travelling to Yogyakarta for an official visit by then foreign minister Alexander Downer.
Some 31 other passengers were injured.
Komar faces three alternative sets of charges.
The most serious is that he deliberately and unlawfully caused an accident or destroyed a plane causing death. If convicted he face life in jail.
He is believed to be the first pilot to face criminal charges over a plane crash in Indonesia, which has a poor safety history.
As he arrived at court on Thursday, Komar said he was ready to face trial.
"I'm ready. I thank God I'm healthy," he said.
His lawyer Mohammad Assegaf said Komar had already paid a heavy price for the crash, including the loss of his pilot's licence and job.
"As a man who lost his job and had his licence frozen, for a pilot that is already the same as being killed," he told journalists.
"Freezing his licence - it's already a very harsh punishment for a pilot."
Garuda is helping fund Komar's defence, Assegaf said.
Five judges will hear the case, which is expected to run for several months.
A Garuda pilot has been formally charged with deliberately causing a passenger plane to crash in Indonesia, killing 21 people including five Australians.
Captain Marwoto Komar, 46, was charged on Thursday at the opening of his trial at Yogyakarta in central Java, where the 21 victims lost their lives on March 7 last year.
Komar fronted the Slemen District Court in his pilot's uniform, despite resigning from Garuda after the airline gave him an ultimatum following the crash.
A copy of an indictment to be read to the court on Thursday says Komar ignored 15 alarms to abort the landing of the Boeing 737 at Yogyakarta's Adi Sucipto Airport.
It says co-pilot Gagam Samam Rohmana had calculated the plane should land at a speed of 140 knots, but when the aircraft hit the runway it was going at 240 knots.
Komar also ignored the pleas of Rohmana not to proceed with the landing, it says.
"The defendant deliberately forced the landing by putting the nose of the Garuda Boeing 737 ... steeply down, so that the ground proximity warning system gave the signal 'whoop whoop, pull up'," the indictment says.
"The (co-pilot) looked or stared to the left at the defendant but the defendant didn't try to lift up the plane or cancel the landing, or go around.
"The defendant didn't try to pull the control column or the plane's steering mechanism ... the defendant only wanted to reach the runway by making the plane dive extremely."
The ground proximity warning system sounded 15 times as the plane came in "but the defendant was still ignoring it", it says.
"When the defendant landed ... the plane speed was still 221 knots."
The plane bounced along the runway three times, snapping its front wheel.
It then careered off the end of the runway, across a street and hit a wall before erupting in flames, the indictment says.
Among the 21 killed were Australian diplomat Liz O'Neill, AusAID official Allison Sudradjat, Australian Federal Police Officers Brice Steele and Mark Scott, and Australian Financial Review journalist Morgan Mellish.
The five were travelling to Yogyakarta for an official visit by then foreign minister Alexander Downer.
Some 31 other passengers were injured.
Komar faces three alternative sets of charges.
The most serious is that he deliberately and unlawfully caused an accident or destroyed a plane causing death. If convicted he face life in jail.
He is believed to be the first pilot to face criminal charges over a plane crash in Indonesia, which has a poor safety history.
As he arrived at court on Thursday, Komar said he was ready to face trial.
"I'm ready. I thank God I'm healthy," he said.
His lawyer Mohammad Assegaf said Komar had already paid a heavy price for the crash, including the loss of his pilot's licence and job.
"As a man who lost his job and had his licence frozen, for a pilot that is already the same as being killed," he told journalists.
"Freezing his licence - it's already a very harsh punishment for a pilot."
Garuda is helping fund Komar's defence, Assegaf said.
Five judges will hear the case, which is expected to run for several months.
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