Investigators were working to determine what caused a new Lion Air passenger jet to miss the runway and crash into the sea off the Indonesian resort island of Bali, in the expanding budget airline’s seventh accident in 11 years.
All 108 people on board survived Saturday’s crash, which has renewed questions about how safe it is to fly in Indonesia. The country has struggled to clean up its poor air safety record while improving oversight.
The US National Transportation Safety Board said yesterday it was sending a team to assist Indonesia’s investigation because the Boeing 737-800 that crashed was designed and made in the US. The team will include advisers from the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing.
The flight data recorder has been removed from the plane and aviation authorities were planning to tow the aircraft to a beach, said Transportation Ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan.
The plane snapped in half as it crashed and came to rest in shallow water near the airport, where divers are searching for the cockpit voice recorder located in the tail.
Wind shear is one of the possible causes being considered in the investigation by Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee.
The weather was rainy with clouds at the time of the crash, Lion Air spokesman Edward Sirait said. The pilot and co-pilot have been grounded for health tests and to answer questions for investigators.
Some survivors swam from the wreckage, while others were plucked from the water by rescuers in rubber boats. Dozens suffered injuries, but most had been released from hospitals by yesterday.
“I couldn’t wait to land in Bali when the cabin suddenly turned dark. I heard a sound like an explosion and water was coming in,” recalled Irawati, a 60-year-old woman who uses one name, like many Indonesians.
“I heard people shouting frantically: ‘The plane crashed! Get out! Get out!’ I did not even have the energy to move my body,” she said. “I was so weak and frightened, and I was asking a flight attendant for help before I passed out.”
Irawati told The Associated Press from her hospital bed that when she regained consciousness, the pilot and co-pilot were putting a life jacket on her and helping her down a rubber ladder. She was then pulled onto a surfboard by rescuers. She suffered neck injuries.