Indonesian Ministry of Transportation to Examine Aging Boeing 737s

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – The Indonesian Ministry of Transportation plans to examine aging Boeing 737s in the wake of the Sriwijaya Air Flight SJ 182 disaster on Saturday, January 9 2021.

The Ministry’s Directorate for the Airworthiness and Aircraft Operations Directorate [DKPPU] issued a circular which announced that the checks will be carried out on 737s throughout Indonesia.

“The types of 737 Classics that will be examined included the 737-300, the 737-400 and the 737-500. Sriwijaya Air Flight SJ 182 was a 737-500,” said DKPPU head Udi Titno Priyatna in a written statement to Kompas.com. “The policy will come into effect on Monday, January 11.”

Udi added that the Directorate will hold the checks according to a number of criteria. “The criterias we will look for include compliance with [the plane’s] airworthiness directive, carrying out routine inspections and major inspections, as well as repetitive monitoring,” he asserted.

Also read: Indonesian Investigators Pinpoint Location of Sriwijaya Air Flight SJ 182

“We will also determine if [the airlines using Boeing 737s] regularly carried out pilot training [for the aircraft], hold pilot proficiency checks, log crew duty times, as well as to examine the [regular] implementation of the checks.”

The circular added that DKPPU will inspect the 737 operators throughout Indonesia. “We will inspect up to 10 Indonesian airlines that are known to operate the 737s. They include Sriwijaya Air, Nam Air, Travel Express Aviation Services, and Trigana Air Services,” Udi pointed out.

“Other carriers that we will check include Tri-Mg Intra Asia Airlines, My Indo Airlines, Jayawijaya Dirgantara, Citilink Indonesia, Deraya Air, dan Cardig Air.”

The Planespotters.net aviation website said the 737-500 aircraft lost in the Sriwijaya Air SJ 182 tragedy was manufactured in 1994, and has been part of Sriwijaya Air's fleet since May 2012.

SHUTTERSTOCK/LEONY EKA PRAKASA JUNE 16, 2019 : A Sriwijaya Air B737-500 PK-CLC Citra at Sepinggan Airport.The aircraft make is similar to Sriwijaya Airs downed Flight SJ 182

Also read: Sriwijaya Air Flight from Jakarta to Pontianak Loses Contact Over Jakarta's Thousand Islands

Meanwhile, the National Transportation Safety Committee or KNKT announced that it obtained a transcript of the recorded conversation between the pilot of Sriwijaya Air SJ 182, which was heading from Jakarta to Pontianak, West Kalimantan.

“The transcription will help piece together the conversation between the pilot and air traffic controllers at Soekarno-Hatta Inspector,” said Captain Nurcahyo Utomo, the head of the Sub-Committee for the Investigation of Flight Accidents to the Antara state news agency.

“The KNKT also obtained other components that can help piece together our investigation of what happened to Sriwijaya Air’s Flight SJ 182. These include the plane’s GPS and radio meter, as well as the tail end of the plane.”

Nurcahyo added that the KNKT is also studying the data of the radar on Flight SJ 182 to determine what happened to the flight before it dropped out of the radar.

(Writer: Rully R. Ramli| Editor : Bambang P. Jatmiko, Rindi Nuris Velarosdela)

Sources: 

https://money.kompas.com/read/2021/01/11/211800926/kemenhub-periksa-seluruh-pesawat-boeing-737-classic-di-indonesia?page=all#page2. 

https://megapolitan.kompas.com/read/2021/01/11/14182911/knkt-kantongi-transkrip-rekaman-pembicaraan-pilot-sriwijaya-air-sj-182.