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Adam Air Flight 574

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Adam Air Flight 574
Flight Route
Occurrence
DateJanuary 1 2007
SummaryUnexplained disappearance
SiteLast known beacon position 3°13′92″S 119°9′17″E / 3.24222°S 119.15472°E / -3.24222; 119.15472 Coordinates: latitude seconds >= 60
{{#coordinates:}}: invalid latitude[1]
Aircraft typeBoeing 737-400
OperatorAdam Air
RegistrationPK-KKW
Passengers96
Crew6
Fatalities102 missing, presumed dead
Injuriesunknown, presumed 0
Survivorsunknown, presumed 0

Adam Air Flight 574 (KI-574) was a scheduled domestic passenger flight between Surabaya (SUB) and Manado (MDC) in Indonesia[2] which disappeared near Polewali in Sulawesi on January 1, 2007.[3] Contrary to news reports made on the day of the disappearance, the plane with 102 people on board remains missing. Indonesian vice-president Jusuf Kalla has described the disappearance as an "international issue".[4] Some pieces of wreckage have been confirmed as found, but the main wreckage remains missing.

Aircraft

File:Adam air.jpg
Adam Air's PK-KKH Boeing 737-400. The missing plane is similar to the one shown except it has not been painted orange.

The aircraft, a Boeing 737-400, registration PK-KKW, was manufactured in 1990[5] and had flown with eight airlines, including Adam Air.[6] The plane had 45,371 flying hours and was last evaluated and declared airworthy by the Indonesian transport ministry on 25 December 2005.[7] It was due to be checked again in late January 2007.[7] The Surabaya airport duty manager said that there were no technical problems with the aircraft before departure.[8]

Flight chronology

On January 1 2007, at 12:55 local time (05:55 UTC), the plane departed from Juanda Airport, Surabaya, with 96 passengers (85 adults, seven children and four infants)[1] and six crew on board.[2] The two-hour flight, scheduled to arrive at Sam Ratulangi Airport, Manado, at 16:00 local time,[note 1] was normal until the plane disappeared from the air traffic control radar at Makassar, South Sulawesi, with the last contact at 14:53 local time (06:53 UTC). The last known beacon position was detected by a Singaporean satellite at 3°13′92″S 119°9′17″E / 3.24222°S 119.15472°E / -3.24222; 119.15472 Coordinates: latitude seconds >= 60
{{#coordinates:}}: invalid latitude.[1] The altitude of the plane was shown as 35,000 feet (10,668 metres) on the radar screen.[9]

Map showing location of Sulawesi Island (light green) among the islands of Indonesia.

Weather in the region was stormy;[10] the Indonesian Bureau of Meteorology and Geophysics noted that the cloud thickness was up to 30,000 feet (9,144 metres) in height and wind speed at an average of 30 knots (56 km/h) in the area.[11] Although the air traffic authority in Indonesia, PT Angkasa Pura I, had given warnings to the pilot concerning the weather condition, the plane went on schedule.[12] The plane ran into winds of more than 130 km/h (80 mph) over the Makassar Strait where it changed course eastward toward land and then lost contact.[13]

Contrary to early reports, no calls for help were sent by the aircraft.[14][15] It might be simply because the cockpit crew were too busy trying to handle the situation.

The passenger list was composed mainly of Indonesian nationals; the only foreigners were an American family of three.[16][17]

Search and rescue efforts

False reports of discovery

Initial reports indicated that the plane had been located in the mountainous region of Sulawesi, which led to the mobilisation of an Indonesian Air Force plane carrying hundreds of search and rescue members. The commander of the Hasanuddin Air Base at Makassar, First Air Marshall Eddy Suyanto, confirmed the report through a local radio station: "The plane is in ruins. We are sending teams to the location. The plane was found around 20 kilometers from Polewali town in the mountains. The weather is clear."[3] The report also indicated that there were 12 survivors and 90 dead.

After the team reached the reported crash site, they found no sign of aircraft wreckage,[18] and subsequently on 2 January 2007, the Indonesian transport minister, Hatta Rajasa, said the plane had not yet been found and reports to the contrary were based on false rumours from local villagers passed on to local officers.[19] First Air Marshall Eddy Suyanto apologized for the misinformation: "The location has not been found. We apologize that the news that we conveyed was not true."[20]

Continued efforts

As of 7 January, the search and rescue team was up to 3,600 members strong.[21] One Boeing 737-200 Surveiller (a military surveillance plane), two infrared-equipped Fokker-50 aircraft from the Republic of Singapore Air Force,[22][23] a Navy Nomad plane and six helicopters were amongst many vehicles dispatched to aid searching for the missing plane from the air.[24][21] Indonesian sonar-equipped military aircraft and ships capable of detecting underwater metals later joined the team, complete with two mini remote-controlled submarines.[25][26] These searched the sea for five days between January 3 and January 8, without success.[27]

Naval ships combed the Makassar Strait while military personnel went through jungles and mountains of Sulawesi.[28] In the face of heavy rain and strong winds in the area, the search efforts, coordinated from Makassar city, were focused in the area between the coastal town of Majene and the mountainous region of Toraja.[28] The search in the two areas was due to twin signals, each carrying different emergency locator transmitter frequencies, received by the Singaporean satellite and an Indonesian military air base.[29] The two separate locations produced on radar screens are a spot on the sea in Majene and on land in Rantepao, Tana Toraja.[30][note 2] Since then the searches have expanded throughout the Island of Sulawesi; some were triggered by unknown distress signals received by a commercial flight and an airport.[31]A police officer at the Barru distric police operational centre said that all the districts with strethes of coastline along the Makasser Strait have teams searching for the plane.[32]

The plane's tracking equipment and emergency locator beacon may have been damaged after the crash or weakened by interference, further hampering the search.[33] The head of the National Search and Rescue Agency has told the Associated Press that he believes the aircraft was probably lost at sea.[33] From 5 January 2007, the main focus of the search has been relocated to areas south of Manado, after Manado's Sam Ratulangi Airport reported detecting a signal from the plane a day before.[34] However, the rugged terrain coupled with thick and low hanging clouds continue to hamper the search efforts, and three relatives of missing passengers who overflew part of the area on a military reconnaissance plane admitted that the chances of finding the plane were slim.[35] Officials have said that it is unlikely any bodies have survived in one piece.[36] On January 14, at Indonesia's request, Singapore sent four Underwater Locator Beacon detecters and six consultants in their use to aid in the search.[37][38]

Discovery of wreckage

Unidentified submerged objects

On Monday, 8 January, three large metal objects, suspected to be wreckage, were detected by the Indonesian ship KRI Fatahillah's sonar.[39][40] First Admiral Gatot Subyanto of the Indonesian Navy indicated three locations, between 3–6 km (2–4 miles) apart, off Mamuju city on Sulawesi's western coast. Due to limitations of the navy's sonar equipment, it was not clear what the metal was,[39] and Indonesia had no other equipment of its own.[41] A U.S. Navy ship, USNS Mary Sears, arrived in the area on January 9 with better equipment which may help identify the objects; as of January 11 the objects remain unidentified. A Canadian jet with five seperate air crews, working in shifts, was sent to aid with aerial mapping of the suspected location on January 9.[42]The Indonesian Marine and Fishery Department has since suggested that the metal objects could instead be instruments deployed to study the underwater sea current.[40] There are now twelve Indonesian Navy ships in the area, including the KRI Ajak, KRI Leuser and KRI Nala.[43][37] Extra underwater equipment, including a metal detector and an undersea camera, was sent from the US, and arrived aboard the USNS Mary Sears on January 17.[43][44]

Floating debris

The tail's right horizontal stabilizer was found by a fisherman, south of Pare Pare, about 300 metres off the beach on January 11,[45], although it was not originally handed in as its discoverer thought it to be a piece of plywood, only later realizing it was a piece of the tail.[46] This was confirmed by the serial number on the stabilizer, 65 C 25746 76, which matches that of components on the missing 737.[47] [48] The fisherman received a reward of 50 million rupiah (equivalent to about $5,500) for his discovery.[46] Later nine other parts of the aircraft, including passenger seats, life jackets, a food tray, part of an aircraft tire, eight pieces of aluminum and fiber, an ID card, a flare and a headrest have also been recovered from the area.[40][49][50] More recently, on January 13, a piece of the wing has also been recovered.[43] The 1.5 metre (5 foot) long section is still being examined to determine whether it is a section of the right wing or the left wing.[46] The total count of recovered objects associated with aircraft, as of January 14, is 153.[51] On January 15, an unidentified fuel spill was spotted by the Singaporean reconnaissance aircraft along the western coast of Sulawesi,[32] but by the time a ship arrived to attempt to determine whether the spill came from the aircraft it had been moved by strong currents. [52] Pieces of clothing thought to belong to passengers have also been recovered. [46]

Human remains

The same day as the stabilizer was found, the body of an Asian woman was recovered from the sea nearby, but she is not yet confirmed to have been a passenger on board the aircraft.[40] Metro TV showed an uncensored scene of a floating body in the port of Pare Pare, South Sulawesi. A woman, body quite bloated with blood coming from nose/mouth wearing green top and purple pink trousers aged about 40. Later news suggests that the woman was not one of the passengers, but a local inhabitant who had left home for several days.[citation needed] A doctor has said that the condition the body was in indicated that it had most likely only been in the sea for five days.[53]

On January 15, pieces of human hair and what is thought to be human scalp were recovered from a headrest that had been pulled from the sea. [52]They are to be DNA tested to attempt to identify them.[46]

Investigation

Although the aircraft has not been located, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ordered a full investigation to discover the cause of the aircraft's disappearance, including the cause of any accident it may have had. It will also look at the airworthiness of the plane and standard procedure on airplane operations.[54] A team from the United States with representatives from the National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing and General Electric are currently in Indonesia and will assist the Indonesian National Committee for Transportation in the investigation.[55][56] Patrick Smith, a U.S.-based airline pilot and aviation commentator, has said that "Whatever happened to the plane, it was likely rapid and catastrophic," and says that an on-board explosion or metal fatigue-induced structural failure are the most likely causes of the accident.[56] There will also be a wider investigation into Indonesia's transport system as a whole.[40] Eyewitnesses have reported seeing a low-flying, unstable aircraft in the area that the wreckage has been recovered from, but lost sight of it after hearing a loud bang.[49] The chief of the Indonesian Plane Technicians group, Wahyu Supriantono, said that the plane is unlikely to have suffered an in-flight break up or explosion as the debris field would have been larger, and as a result, wreckage would have been discovered earlier.[57] On January 13, Roy Suryo, a self-proclaimed telecommunications expert, arrived in Sulawesi to assist in the search for the aircraft's flight recorders, which he believes fell into a swampy area between Pare-Pare and Pinrang.[43]

Political reaction

Indonesian vice-president Jusuf Kalla has described the disappearance as an "international issue".[4] A few days after the disapearance, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono set up the National Team for Transportation Safety and Security, partially as a response to the high number of recent transportational accidents in Indonesia, and partially as a direct response to the event.[58] The team is tasked to investigate accidents, evaluate thoroughly the transport safety procedures and review the existing regulations on transportation, and as such is comparable to the NTSB.[58]

See also

Notes

1 Cities on Java island, including Surabaya, observe one hour difference with cities on Sulawesi islands (UTC+7 and UTC+8 respectively).
2 An aeroplane has two ELTs: one, a portable unit, is located in the cockpit, emits on 121.5 MHz, and is activated by the plane ditching at sea; the other, a fixed ELT near the tail, emits on 406 MHz and is activated by a crash landing.

References

  1. ^ a b c "Adam Air News Alert". Adam Air. Retrieved 2007-01-03.
  2. ^ a b "Plane Carrying 102 Missing in Indonesia". Forbes. 1 January 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-01.
  3. ^ a b Norton, Jerry (2007-01-01). "Wreckage of plane found in Indonesian mountains". Yahoo!, Reuters. Retrieved 2007-01-03. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ a b Missing airliner 'international issue': Indonesian VP - The Vancouver Sun - retrieved on January 7, 2007.
  5. ^ "Nasib 96 Penumpang, Pilot dan Kru Tidak Diketahui" (in Indonesian). Kompas. Retrieved 2007-01-03.
  6. ^ "AdamAir PK-KKW Airfleets". Airfleets. Retrieved 2007-01-03.
  7. ^ a b "Missing airliner not located: Indonesian officials". Reuters. Retrieved 2007-01-03.
  8. ^ "Now, search on for missing plane". Singapore: The Electric New Paper. Retrieved 2007-01-03.
  9. ^ "Search on for Missing Indonesian Plane". Focus News Agency. 1 January 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-01.
  10. ^ "Flight missing in bad weather". Edmonton sun.com. Retrieved 2007-01-01.
  11. ^ "Jatuhnya Pesawat Adam Air di Sulawesi Barat Adalah Akibat Cuaca Buruk" (in Indonesian). Adam Air. Retrieved 2007-01-02.
  12. ^ "President welcomes S`porean and US offer to help find missing Adam Air plane". ANTARA. 4 January 2004. Retrieved 2007-01-04.
  13. ^ "Lost plane 'battled 130kph winds'". CNN. 6 January 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-06.
  14. ^ "Missing Indonesian jet did not call for help". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 2007-01-04.
  15. ^ "Indonesian jet didn't send out distress signal". GlobeandMail.com. Retrieved 2007-01-04.
  16. ^ "Three from Bend on plane that crashed in Indonesia". The Bend Bulletin. Retrieved 2007-01-09.
  17. ^ "Rescuers deny airliner found". News.com.au. Retrieved 2007-01-02.
  18. ^ "Rescuers have not found Indonesia plane wreck: military". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 2007-01-02.
  19. ^ "Confusion mounts over Java plane". BBC News. Retrieved 2007-01-02.
  20. ^ "Embarrassed officials reveal missing Indonesian plane wasn't found". Daily Mail. Retrieved 2007-01-02.
  21. ^ a b Indonesia steps up search for missing plane - Swissinfo - retrieved on January 7, 2007.
  22. ^ "Singapore to help Indonesia locate missing Adam Air jet". Channel News Asia. 3 January 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-03.
  23. ^ "Kirim 2 Fokker, Singapura Siapkan Infra Red Cari AdamAir". Detik.com. 3 January 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-03.
  24. ^ "Two mily planes help search for missing Adam Air". ANTARA. 3 January 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-03.
  25. ^ "Search intensifies for missing Adam Air 737". Air Transport World Magazine. 4 January 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-08.
  26. ^ "Cari Bangkai AdamAir, TNI AL Kerahkan KRI Bersonar" (in Indonesian). Detik.com. 4 January 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-04.
  27. ^ Unmanned undersea vehicle searching for missing Indonesian plane - Xinhua - Obtained January 16, 2007
  28. ^ a b Ahmad Pathoni (3 January 2007). "Anger as Indonesia resumes search for airliner". Reuters. Retrieved 2007-01-03.
  29. ^ "Possible in-flight blast caused plane crash on land and sea". Asianews.it. Retrieved 2007-01-04.
  30. ^ "Bisa Jadi Pesawat AdamAir Meledak di Udara". Detik.com. Retrieved 2007-01-04.
  31. ^ "Pesawat Lion Air Terima Sinyal Bahaya di Laut Banda". Liputan 6 SCTV. Retrieved 2007-01-05.
  32. ^ a b Indonesia Plane Crash Still A Mystery - AllHeadlineNews.com - retrieved on January 17, 2007
  33. ^ a b "Ocean scoured for Indonesia jet". CNN. Retrieved 2007-01-03.
  34. ^ "Indonesia shifts search for missing plane after beacon signal". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 2007-01-05.
  35. ^ "Daunting task as Indonesia steps up airliner search". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 2007-01-08.
  36. ^ Indonesia plane search narrows after debris found - thestar.com - Retrieved on January 12, 2007
  37. ^ a b Fuel spill clue to missing jet - NWC News - Obtained January 15, 2007.
  38. ^ Singapore's Navy joins search for missing Indonesian airliner - channelnewsasia.com - Obtained on January 16, 2007.
  39. ^ a b "Airline hunt spots metal in sea". BBC. Retrieved 2007-01-08.
  40. ^ a b c d e More Adam Air plane wreckage discovered - The Daily Telegraph (Australia) - Obtained on 11 January, 2007
  41. ^ Indonesia: metal object detected during plane search - Xinhua - Obtained January 16, 2007
  42. ^ "Kanada Kirim Sebuah Pesawat Bantu Cari Adam Air". Media Indonesia. 2007-01-09.
  43. ^ a b c d Technical help awaited as plane search continues - The Jakarta Post
  44. ^ Metal Detector Arrives To Help Locate Missing Indonesian Airplane - Playfuls.com - Retrieved on January 17, 2007.
  45. ^ "Tail of missing Indonesian plane found". Sydney Morning Herald. 2007-01-10.
  46. ^ a b c d e Indonesia to DNA test human fragments in plane hunt - Boston.com - Obtained on January 15, 2007
  47. ^ Adam Air Plane Trail Found in Parepare Bay - Agoravox - Obtained on January 15, 2007
  48. ^ Pieces of missing plane found in Indonesian waters - Kare11.com - Obtained 11 January, 2007
  49. ^ a b Fishermen find parts of jetliner - CNN - Obtained 11 January, 2007
  50. ^ Parts of lost Indonesian jet found - MWC News - Obtained January 11, 2007
  51. ^ Indonesia continues searching for missing plane's black box - Xinhua - Obtained on January 16, 2007
  52. ^ a b Investigators say fuel spill may be from downed Indonesian jetliner - Long Beach Press-Telegram, CA - Obtained January 15, 2007
  53. ^ Adam Air jetliner debris found in the sea off Sulawesi - Prvada - Obtained January 17, 2007.
  54. ^ "Missing Indonesian aircraft still missing despite claims of survivors" (Press release). e-Travel Blackboard. Retrieved 2007-01-02.
  55. ^ "Mountains searched for Indonesian aircraft". Financial Times. Retrieved 2007-01-03.
  56. ^ a b U.S. Aviation Experts Are Helping With the Investigation - KNX - retrieved on January 7, 2007.
  57. ^ Wreckage of missing Indonesian plane found - The Brunei Times Obtained on January 12, 2007
  58. ^ a b Indonesia forms transport security team after plane crash - Xinhua - Obtained January 16, 2007
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