Another DAY, Another Disaster in Indonesia


JAKARTA (AFP) - A Boeing 737-400 jet erupted into flames on landing at Yogyakarta airport in central Indonesia on Wednesday, killing dozens of passengers trapped inside the burning fuselage, officials said.

Australian diplomats and journalists covering Foreign Minister Alexander Downer's visit to Indonesia were among those on the flight from the capital Jakarta. Downer was not on board, Australian officials confirmed.

"I saw many bodies, dozens of bodies badly burnt near the exit," Captain Yos Bintoro, an airport official, told Elshinta radio. "I saw people dead in the cockpit," he added.

Indonesia's Transport Minister Hatta Rajasa told Metro TV station that the plane was carrying 133 passengers and there were 76 confirmed survivors.

Witnesses said the plane from the national carrier Garuda Indonesia caught fire as it landed and then veered off the runway.

Television pictures showed fireman dousing the charred and broken fuselage of the plane as it lay smouldering in the grass off the end of the runway. The tailfin bearing the blue colours of Garuda was almost sheared off.

"I was sleeping then the plane slammed twice and I heard people screaming. It was dark and there was smoke everywhere. I saw many passengers hurt," said Din Syamsuddin, the chairman of Indonesian Muslim movement Muhammadiyah, who was on the plane.

"I was sitting not far from the emergency door. I felt someone guide me to the right," he said. "There were many people inside the plane when I got out."

Local hospitals in the Yogyakarta area also said over 50 injured people had been brought in for treatment after the crash.

"The plane is completely burnt. The fire erupted suddenly from the front wheel," one witness, Hariman, told ElShinta radio.

One unnamed passenger told the radio she had managed to escape from the plane in the panic and that many passengers were still behind her. She said she was unsure if they were trapped or had managed to get out.

The Australians on the aircraft included one foreign affairs department official, a federal policeman and "at least five media representatives", Sky television reported from the capital Canberra.

It was believed some of the Australians had survived, but further details were not available, Sky said.

Indonesia's flight safety record has come under renewed scrutiny since an Adam Air Boeing 737-400 with 102 people on board crashed into the sea off the island of Sulawesi on New Year's Day with no survivors.

Last Friday a Boeing 737-200 operated by local Indonesian carrier Merpati Nusantara was forced to make an emergency landing on Batam Island after the pilot reported a dangerous oil leak.

The steady stream of accidents and safety scares involving Indonesian airlines has forced President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to form a team to evaluate and improve transport safety.

President "Akan" at it again. SBY: "I will now form a team to evaluate transport safety..."

Here's a link to CNN video of the burning wreckage:
Hope it works like this:

CNN video of Garuda
javascript:cnnVideo('play','/video/world/2007/03/06/quiano.bpr.indonesia.plane.fire.cnn','2007/03/20');

JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- A commercial airliner arriving from Jakarta burst into flames Wednesday upon landing at Yogyakarta airport in central Java, an official there told CNN.

The Garuda Airlines Boeing 737-400 appeared to overshoot the runway before flames shot out, and witnesses reported hearing an explosion, according to media reports.

Reports differed on the number of people onboard. Media reports said 133 passengers and seven crew members were onboard, while Andy Mallarangeng, a spokesman for the Indonesian government, told CNN 115 passengers were onboard.

Among them were Australian government officials and members of the Australian media, The Australian Foreign Ministry in Canberra told CNN. The Australian government released no further information about their fate.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer was hosting a ministerial meeting on counterterrorism in Jakarta with his Indonesian counterpart, Hassan Wirajuda, this week, according to a March 1 statement issued by him. Several officials, including Attorney General Philip Ruddock, were accompanying him, he said.

The two officials were not on the Garuda Airlines flight but remained in Jakarta and have been traveling on a Royal Australian Air Force plane, department sources told CNN. Members of the Australian press corps were on the Garuda Airlines flight, however.

The number of casualties onboard the plane was unclear, but 76 people were evacuated, according to Indonesia's Transportation Ministry.

"We are still waiting for the latest information" about any passengers who may have been trapped, he said. It was too early to speculate on what caused the plane to erupt in flames, he added.

"Officials are on the site and doing whatever they can for the situation," he said.

Video footage from the scene showed rescue workers and onlookers surrounding the plane's smoking fuselage. The top of the plane appeared to have burned away.

The plane was about 8-9 years old, according to a Garuda Airlines spokesman.

Indonesia has suffered from a string of transportation accidents in recent months, including an Adam Air plane that disappeared in January with more than 100 passengers and crew on board, and a ferry sinking in late December in which hundreds died.

The plane accident Tuesday occurred one day after a 6.3-magnitude earthquake hit western Indonesia, killing at least 70 people and injuring hundreds more.
Full story here:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/asiapcf/03/06/indonesia.earthquake/index.html/

President "Akan" at it again. SBY: "I will now form a team to evaluate transport safety..."

BUT we will hide the results of said evaluation because we know its due to bad maintenaince and our courrupt society and it will only again make us look like a 5th world country because that is really what we are and we don't want to lose face yet AGAIN

I don't want to call it a "Mickey Mouse" country as that would deeply offend Mickey

I've never understood why people think Garuda is so safe...

1995 casualties not announced


June 1996, 3 dead, 274 injured


Sept. 1997, 234 dead.


Jan. 2002, 1 dead, 60 injured



March 2007, "dozens dead" including Aussie diplomats/journos

"Local Islamic leader Dien Syamsudin, said: I saw a foreigner. His clothes were on fire and I jumped from the emergency exit. Thank God I survived.''

I hope something was lost in translation there....

Some more pics...

Bring the whole family from the kampong to view charred bodies:



Local cops having a looky loo and discussing "compensation":

That wasn't just any local iSlam leader, that was actually MUI SekJen and Muhammadiya Chieftain Din Samsyuddin, the wire reports just butchered the spelling of his name. But yes, indeed a very weird sounding comment.

Just a wild idea (just may be)...possibility of suicide killer?
knowing that there were lots of Australians inside. My imagination is running wild now.

"That wasn't just any local iSlam leader, that was actually MUI SekJen and Muhammadiya Chieftain Din Samsyuddin, the wire reports just butchered the spelling of his name. But yes, indeed a very weird sounding comment."

that's why it got me thinking, i hope he wasn't saying the infidel burned, but thank allah i'm still here...

"Just a wild idea (just may be)...possibility of suicide killer?
knowing that there were lots of Australians inside. My imagination is running wild now."

try thinking about managerial incompetence, corruption and indifference to human suffering instead ...

The death toll rises sharply in past 20 minutes from 8 to 49...

(Reuters) - Forty-nine people have been confirmed dead in a plane crash at the airport of the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta, a government official told Reuters on Wednesday.

"We found 48 dead bodies at the spot. One person died at Sardjito hospital," provincial secretary Bambang Susanto said, referring to the city's main medical centre.

ONE really nice thing for this government is that when there are so many disasters one after the other, it's really easy for them to just focus on saying the right things during this current one and ignore the investigations or analysis of all the previous disasters.

The media and the people also have extremely short attention spans and thus won't keep the gov't accountable. For sure, they will "discuss" an investigation on this and then we'll never again hear anything more about it and they'll never be any preventive measures taken as everyone focuses on the next problem.

Any guesses on the next one? I reckon it'll be a bomb at a mall or something.

The burning wreckage, all I gotta say is those that survived were darn lucky:

AUSSIE VIPs onboard:

By Rob Taylor

CANBERRA, March 7 (Reuters) - Yogyakarta has always been a hair-raising destination, with its bumpy, rolling runway seemingly made worse by last year's heavy earthquake.

The expected arrival of Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer to meet the city's powerful ruling Sultan meant the Garuda Indonesian jet that caught fire on landing there on Wednesday was carrying a number of Australian government officials and journalists.

Prime Minister John Howard said at least 10 citizens were on board and some remained unaccounted for, including one defence force liaison staffer and an Australian Federal Police officer.

Also missing was an embassy staffer travelling from Jakarta for Downer's visit.

"I've given authority for any aircraft, medical assistance and the like that is needed -- not only for the Australians but for others involved in the accident -- to be made available immediately," Howard said.

At least 49 people were killed but dozens escaped after the Boeing 737-400 carrying 133 passengers and seven crew overshot the runway and burst into flames on landing.

An Australian television cameraman, Wayne Sukarda, reportedly broke both legs in the accident while a journalist with the Sydney Morning Herald, Cynthia Banham, suffered burns to both legs and was recovering in a Yogyakarta hospital.

Downer and Australian Attorney-General Philip Ruddock were not in the city -- Java's ancient capital and a tourist drawcard -- having been delayed in Jakarta following a security summit.

Downer's air force VIP jet was due to fly to the city as soon as the runway was cleared to offer help to any injured Indonesians or Australians requiring medical evacuation.

The rough Yogyakarta strip, used also by Indonesian air force planes, frequently causes aircraft to hit hard while touching down, prompting gasps from passengers as the planes bounce to a shuddering stop.

Garuda's commuter flight from Jakarta was servicing one of the country's busiest air routes, also popular with tourists headed for Yogyakarta's famed Buddhist and Hindu monuments.

Aviation disaster expert Robert Heath said aircraft speed might have been a factor in the crash.

"From what I can see so far the aircraft appeared to land intact and that may point to excess speed being a factor," said Professor Heath, from the University of South Australia.

"The fire may have been caused by the nose wheel hitting things as it ran off the runway or engine destruction. It was probable that a fuel tank was punctured on impact and to me it looks very similar to the Manchester Airport crash in 1985 that showed a burn pattern across the top cabin."

The Garuda official says the plane was "8 or 9 years old" but he lies. Here's the history of this aircraft:

History of the aircraft 737-400
Delivery Date Operator Registration Remark
13/11/1992 Aloha Airlines N402AL
23/04/1996 Star Europe F-GRSC
28/10/1997 Jet Airways VT-JAP
07/10/2002 Garuda PK-GZC lsd GECAS

wrong info... it's the one above.

Which one was it Riccardo ?

I just received an SMS from a mate in Jogja

he say: out of the 19 foreigners on the garuda plane, 12 have been evacuated, 8 aussies, 2 japanese 2 brunei nationals, the 7 others are sill unaccounted for

"Australian Prime Minister John Howard said at least 10 citizens were on board and some remained unaccounted for, including one defence force liason staffer and an Australian Federal Police officer.

However, Garuda's media office said the plane carried just eight Australians, as well as two Japanese, two Brunei nationals and seven other foreigners. "

You mate's SMS would appear to confirm Garuda's story then (or the other way round)
I think that "the 7 others are sill unaccounted for " probably refers to a dodgy translation of "seven other foreigners"

4 Aussies are apparently still missing, including the Australian Financial Review's, Morgan Mellish.

It was the first one Capt., serial # PK-GZC, first flown in 1992, making it 15 years old. Here's a pic of the same plane in happier times.

Just thinking, it's like won't to stop about problems in Indonesia, so many things. I can't imagine it, how i sad now. Keep going on and on... Tsunami, earthquake, hot mud, drought, flood, accidents by planes, sheaps, trains etc.

Here's a shot of it's serial # PK-GZC confirming it's the 1992 aircraft and the same as the one above.

If you go to the BBC site, there are a couple of videos linked there (don't know how to link directly here). One obviously by one of the first passengers to get out, who must've turned on his mobile device... It shows well-dressed passengers jogging through the rice field, some obviously got their luggage first... crazy.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6425419.stm

Oddly, the death toll went as high as 58 at one point and now is "officially" 22. Curiouser and Curiouser indeed. Still 4 or 5 Aussies listed as "missing".

Some great photos (albeit very large, and may take some time to load) from indflyer.net, first one shows the guy taking away the blackbox and the other shows where the tire of the nose wheel obviously shredded off the rim skidded and dug into the tarmac, surely throwing up a lightshow of sparks:

"shows where the tire of the nose wheel obviously shredded off the rim skidded and dug into the tarmac"

I wonder what happened to the other nose wheel tyre ? surprising lack of rubber - could have been the tail skid plate

Seems God forgot about Indonesia, each day i turn the tv on i see another disaster, its unbeliveble...
God dont hear Indonesian prayers anymore.
I wish you guys very good luck and be strong...

Queenie, I don't think God have something to do with human stupidity here...

And natural disasters, it's not because insurance companies call it "act of God" that it's necessaraly the case...

A bit quick to jump on "human stupidity" just yet - though it may be high on the cards -
We could however look at Australian Fuckwits with a camera filming the performance for posterity instead of either fucking off out of the way , or trying to help .

I've read that the cameraman was a local guy; a freelancer hired by the Aussie TV station for a one-off gig.

"We could however look at Australian Fuckwits with a camera filming the performance for posterity instead of either fucking off out of the way , or trying to help . "

he was an Indonesian fuckwit...

In a slight attempt to bring it back on topic I wouldn't mind getting a few votes on this poll.

Mr. C, I think the accidents can be blamed on both the company and the government.

IMHO it has to be the government who has to take charge. It is their responsibility to protect the people of Indonesia and if they really cracked down on companies running unsafe transport then things would improve.

I would be interested to know how Indonesia ranks in terms of transportation disasters ... it has to be high up in the world list. Ricc any stats to hand on that??

Standard Operating Procedure for indonesian flight crew.

Holy Bejeezus, I go to a meeting today and a fairly sober thread on the accident turns into a moose-counting affair.

Chewwy, I agree with NW, my guess is it's a combination of shoddy companies and corrupt govt people, particularly govt regulators.

There are lots of stats, but for air travel alone, it stands out as the probably the only country in the world, which can't claim air travel is the safest mode of transportation.

In 2006 alone, (not counting the 3 MAJOR accidents this year) there was an aircraft "incident" recorded in the country every nine to 10 days. Apart from crashes and "near" crashes, this includes whether a plane had missed the runway or was forced into a landing because of a technical fault.

More worryingly, the statistics only account for the incidents which have been logged.

Major aircraft accidents have cost the lives of almost 280 people in Indonesia in the past three years.

Overall, Indonesia’s aviation safety record is only slightly better than the average African country, according to figures from a London-based aircraft insurance adjuster, Airclaims Ltd.

On average, Indonesian airline companies damage one plane hull beyond repair for every 200,000 flights. Only slightly better than the poorest of African countries with one loss for every 150,000 flights. In the USA, for example, it is one for every 4.5 million.

Garuda alone has killed over 620 passengers over the past 50 years -- meaning nearly 13 Garuda passengers will die each year on average.

sources: Telegraph, NYTimes, AirClaims

My ex was ground crew mgr. and stewardess for an airline in CA and I know for a fact that they are required by ICAO to go through strenuous training on everything from first-aid to crawling through smoke filled planes to rescue people.

According to Int'l regulations from ICAO, EVERY crew member on every plane in the world must be trained in, and able to, follow emergency procedures, which first and foremost means: Assisting the passengers to get out first in a situation such as this!!

One eyewitness said he saw the crew jumping out before anyone else. That, right there, is a major int'l violation, which Garuda should very rightly be sanctioned for.

nothing is safe...

Flight attendants are not just there to be pretty face.

Some excerpts from FAA cabin crew regulations:

--Generally they must pass a thorough training course of up to 8 weeks to earn special certification, which must renewed every 2 years.

--Major airlines are required by international law to provide flight attendants for the safety of the traveling public.

--At least 1 hour before each flight, attendants are briefed by the captain—the pilot in command—on such things as emergency evacuation procedures, coordination of the crew, the length of the flight, expected weather conditions, and special issues.

--flight attendants instruct all passengers in the use of emergency equipment.

--Helping passengers in the event of an emergency is the most important responsibility of a flight attendant.

What people do and what they are supposed to do are two completely different things .
I recently had the pleasure of an easyjet flight to switzerland , and the fucking thing took off with one of the cabin crew poncing around with coffee and hardbakes in the rear galley -
An incident such as this only shows peoples true nature and character - I wonder what would happen in such a situation in the UK ? the bastards can't wait to get on an off the thing at the best of times , in an emergency situation you would probably get torn to bits . Can you imagine the average Indo trying to open the emergency hatches on a 737 ? no , nor can I , it was probable crew who had to do it , and I what is the betting that standing with the wind in their face , they chose not to go back and get BBQ'ed ? I know which direction I would be heading in too - like the safety demo , if you need to be shown how to put a seat belt on , your are too dense to fly - same for heading for 6 large holes leading to safety from a flame saturated cabin - do you think they should have stayed back an offered items from the Garuda inflight magazine ?

Any further info on what caused it then Riccardo ? - the others may not take this seriously and have the audacity to count mooses etc , but I certainly do .
Just looking at your first photo suggests happenings not in accordance with reports -

I remember the Emirates Airline Cabin Crew helped passengers in many ways!

But on a serious note, they are in fact by airline rules and regulations required to control the aircraft passenger evacuation prior to their own disembarking!

Having said that, in a panic environment you cannot control how individuals will react! Some people can keep their head while others will lose the plot, even though they have more training and are theoretically able to perform these tasks automatically!

If there is a fireball ripping through the fuselage, it could be considered a good time to exit and try to do what you can for those outside.

Difficult call on that one, I do not think anyone in that situation can be criticised.

You haven't travelled on any of the european budget airlines then - half the fuckers live in the ground .

To be fair one of the cabin crew did die. Perhaps it was the purser (cabin supv) and he/she ordered his mates off and did what he could before dying himself.