Lost: One aircraft wing. Only one owner
JAKARTA – For the second time in a matter of weeks, an Indonesian plane has lost part of a wing but this time authorities are having trouble identifying the culprit.
In the latest incident a three-metre piece of a plane’s wing has been found on a runway in Jakarta, two weeks after a chunk of wing fell off a passenger plane as it took off from Sukarno-Hatta international airport.
No airline operator had reported the part missing since its discovery on Tuesday on a runway serving Jakarta’s domestic terminal, said Wahyu Supriantono, chairman of the Indonesian Aircraft Technicians Association.
“From the serial number printed on the piece, we know that it is a part of the wing but we cannot trace the owner of the plane with the number,” Supriantono said.
It was unclear whether it came from a passenger or cargo plane.
Two weeks ago, a chunk of wing dropped off an Indonesian passenger plane carrying 144 people minutes after take-off from Jakarta, forcing the pilot to turn back.
Although the plane operated by Batavia Air landed safely, the incident sparked fresh concerns about the safety of flying in Indonesia following two major air accidents this year.
The part of that aircraft was later found near the airport and Supriantono said that six engineers had been suspended over the incident.
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has yet to give Indonesia’s airlines a clean bill of health following the latest probe into the country’s aviation sector.
The EU reviewed the results of a six-man team sent to Indonesia to audit safety of domestic carriers.
Placing much of the blame on Indonesia’s civil aviation authority, EASA called for a complete reorganisation, with sufficient resources and political commitment to ensure the government is competent to oversee 42 air operators.
EASA concluded, “It’s obvious that today it cannot…so the decision was taken that the entire fleet from Indonesia will remain on the blacklist.”
In reaching its decision to continue its negative review of Indonesian air operations, the EU exchanged notes with the Australian Civil Aviation Authority and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration who reportedly supported the EU view that the administration of Indonesian flight operations still suffered from major weaknesses.
Preliminary results for this calendar year from the International Air Transport Association show an accident rate globally of 0.9 aircraft losses for every million flights, up from 0.65 for 2006.
Crashes in Indonesia, including the fatal accident at Yogyakarta in March, pushed the Asia-Pacific rate up to 3.27 losses for every million flights.
IATA director-general Giovanni Bisignani described the result as “a big step backwards”. He said some areas were doing well and there had been no accidents in the Middle East or North Africa.
Ian Jarrett
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
TAP Air Portugal to operate 29 flights due to strike on December 11
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Strike action set to cause travel chaos at Brussels airports
Digital Travel Reporter of the Mirror totally seduced by HotelPlanner AI Travel Agent