11 March 2008

Adam Air scare in Batam

BATAM: Just as Indonesia is preparing to ask EU authorities to lift its ban on Indonesia airlines flying to Europe, an Adam Air Boeing 737-400 carrying 174 people skidded off the runway in heavy rain while landing at Batam airport this week.

An airline spokesman said the aircraft overshot the runway at Hang Nadim airport on Batam, an Indonesian island close to Singapore.

Adam Air spokesman Danke Drajat said,"It rained heavily at the airport but whether it was due to the weather it is not for us to say.Ã¢â¬~

IndonesiaÃ¢â¬â¢s national transport safety committee is investigating.

None of the 169 passengers and five crew members on board the plane coming from Jakarta was injured but several people were being treated for shock.

Indonesia has suffered a number of airline disasters in recent years, raising concerns about safety standards and prompting the European Union to ban all Indonesian airlines from its airspace.

In March last year, a Garuda Indonesia plane overshot the runway and burst into flames after landing too fast at Yogyakarta, killing 22 of the passengers.

In January 2007, an Adam Air plane crashed into the sea off Sulawesi island, with all 102 on board presumed dead.

The latest incident comes as Indonesia prepares to lobby the EC to lift the ban on Indonesian airlines in Europe.

Local reports indicate that the Indonesian government is preparing the way for national carrier Garuda to resume flights to Amsterdam.

Bali Update (www.balidiscovery.com) reported that despite urgings from the Indonesian Government that the European Union review its current ban in April, it now appears almost certain that the Indonesian blacklisting will only be tabled for review at the July meeting of the EU Commission.

The EU Commission meeting scheduled for April 17 requires that a written report from Jean Pierre Ambrosini, the EU Aviation specialist assigned to Jakarta, be submitted before a pre-meeting deadline of March 15.

Because Ambrosini has only just started his Indonesian assignment it will not be possible for him to compile a detailed assessment of recent improvements in Indonesia's aviation security and safety procedures in time for the April gathering.