Jump to content

Adam Air Flight 172

This is a good article. Click here for more information.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 71.93.90.163 (talk) at 05:45, 16 February 2013 (→Accident: Changed from incident to accident, which is what it was). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Adam Air Flight 172
Adam Air Flight 172 after impact on the runway.
Accident
Date21 February 2007 (2007-02-21)
SummaryStructural failure upon landing
SiteJuanda International Airport
Aircraft typeBoeing 737-33A
OperatorAdam Air
RegistrationPK-KKV
Passengers143
Crew6
Fatalities0
InjuriesMinor[1]
Survivors149 (all)

Adam Air Flight 172 was involved in a serious accident involving a Boeing 737-300, registered PK-KKV, while flying on a scheduled domestic passenger flight in Indonesia between Jakarta and Surabaya.[1] Officials stated the aircraft passed safety checks prior to its departure.[1] On 21 February 2007, the plane bent on landing, with the fuselage cracking in the middle of the passenger section. All six of Adam Air's remaining 737s were immediately grounded, but five of them were back in regular service later that year. This incident has caused further concerns regarding the safety of flights operated by Adam Air, which has received much criticism after the 1 January 2007 crash of Flight 574.

Aircraft

The aircraft, a Boeing 737-33A, registration PK-KKV, was acquired by Adam Air (the 10th airline to own the plane) in early-December 2006, having previously been owned by Brazilian operator Varig. The aircraft was manufactured in 1994.[2]

Accident

The plane bent upon landing at Juanda International Airport, with the fuselage cracking in the middle of the passenger section. It was reported that the landing itself was particularly hard, with baggage being ejected from cabin lockers into the cabin space.[3] The tail section of the plane was bent down compared to the rest of the plane.[4] Subsequent flights to the airport were diverted to alternate airports.[5] The investigation into the cause of this accident is continuing, with Adam Air's fleet of Boeing 737-300s grounded for safety inspections in the interim.[3] Immediately after the accident, Adam Air repainted the aircraft, covering the original orange livery with a plain white exterior. This is legally permissible, so long as no evidence is destroyed.[6] Also in the immediate aftermath, a large number of passengers cancelled their flights with Adam Air,[7] saying they had "lost faith" in the airline. They were all refunded in full.[8]

Another view of the jet.
Another view of Adam Air flight 172.

Grounding of Adam Air's 737s

As a result, all six remaining Adam Air 737s were immediately grounded awaiting safety checks. Adam Air described this as "harsh punishment" for an accident it blames on poor weather conditions causing a momentary loss of control, but the Vice President of Indonesia, Jusuf Kalla, has said that all Boeing 737-300s should be checked.[3] He eventually decided the entire Indonesian fleet of 737s should be checked, but did not ground any more aircraft.[9] There were also suggestions that Adam Air should be suspended from all operations until the entire fleet could be checked, with MP Abdul Hakim saying "It will be good for the company and the government ... until the flight authorities can determine if Adam Air is still worthy as national aircraft company".[10]

The Indonesian Transport Ministry has said that if the aircraft show signs of problems, the checks will be expanded to cover all 737s currently operating in Indonesia.[4] On 5 March it was reported that five of the six aircraft have returned to normal operations, but the sixth is still undergoing a full maintenance overhaul at a maintenance, repair and overhaul firm GMF AeroAsia facility.[11] Adam Air had resumed a complete normal schedule by 9 March 2007.[12]

Investigation

The incident was investigated by the Indonesian National Transportation Safety Commission (INTSC).[13] Investigators have compiled data from the Indonesian weather agency and from the air traffic control center in Surabaya in an attempt to determine the cause, and have also interviewed the pilot.[1] Officials state the aircraft did pass safety checks prior to its departure.[1] Boeing has announced that they will also be providing technical assistance to both the authorities and the airline during the course of the investigation.[4]

The final report from the NTSC stated that the probable cause of the accident was an excessive sink rate upon touchdown, following an unstabilized approach.[14] In the report, the INTSC mentions that the approach was unstable to as low as 200 feet (61 m), and that as a result the aircraft landed exceedingly hard, with a vertical airspeed in excess of 2500 fpm. This resulted in a force of approximately 5 g on landing. Additionally, the aircraft initially touched down with the right main gear approximately 4 metres (13 ft) outside of the runway edge.

The investigation further revealed that there was no technical malfunction on the aircraft prior to touchdown.

The flight crew was also criticized for not maintaining a sterile cockpit during the landing, with excessive non-flight related discussion going on throughout the flight. This was considered a significant factor contributing to the accident.[15]

Unusually for an aircraft accident investigation, the investigative committee was not provided information as to the identities of the flight crew of the aircraft.

Maintenance concerns

Main article: Adam Air
See also: Adam Air Flight 574

The safety record of Adam Air has been heavily criticized, especially in the aftermath of Flight 574. Adam Air has reportedly bribed pilots to fly planes they knew were unsafe.[16] Pilots have reported repeated and deliberate breaches of international safety regulations, and aircraft being flown in non-airworthy states for months at a time. They claim that there have been such incidents as requests to sign documents to allow an aircraft to fly, while not having the authority to, and while knowing the plane to be not airworthy, flying a plane for several months with a damaged door handle, swapping parts between aircraft to avoid mandatory replacement deadlines, being ordered to fly aircraft after exceeding the take-off limit of five times per pilot per day, flying an aircraft with a damaged window, using spare parts from other aircraft to keep planes in the air and the ignoring of pilot's requests not to take off due to unsafe aircraft. The Associated Press quotes one pilot as saying that "Every time you flew, you had to fight with the ground staff and the management about all the regulations you had to violate." They also claim that if pilots confronted their seniors in the airline, they were grounded or docked pay.[16][17]

Aftermath

Even though the accident remains under investigation, the Indonesian government announced plans immediately after the accident to ban jets over ten years of age for any commercial purpose.[18] The age limit is currently 35 years or 70,000 landings.[19] Although this is in response to a large number of aircraft accidents, it is mainly in response to this accident and the loss of Flight 574. Indonesia has also announced plans to reshuffle the Transportation Ministry in response to this incident, Flight 574 and the loss of the ferries MV Senopati Nusantara and MV Levina 1. Among those to be replaced are the directors of air and sea transports and the chairman of the National Committee for Transportation Safety.[20] Indonesia also intends to introduce a new system of ranking airlines according to their safety record, with a level one ranking meaning the airline has no serious issues, a level two ranking meaning the airline must fix problems, and a level three rating forcing the airline to be shut down.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Indonesia Grounds Airplanes After Latest Air Mishap". MND, 22 February 2007. Retrieved: 1 March 2007.
  2. ^ Adam Air PK-KKV (Airfleets). Retrieved: 14 February 2007.
  3. ^ a b c "Indonesia 'Grounds' Adam Air Jets". Al Jazeera, 22 February 2007. Retrieved: 18 October 2009.
  4. ^ a b c d "Indonesia may expand inspection of Boeing jets - Accident prompts scrutiny of 737-300s". Seattle PI, 24 February 2007. Retrieved: 1 March 2007.
  5. ^ "Checks urged after passenger jet cracks on landing" (on Archive.org). stuff.co.nz, 24 February 2007. Retrieved: 25 February 2007.
  6. ^ "Adam Air paints its ill-fated plane". The Jakarta Post, Retrieved: 28 February 2007.
  7. ^ "Airline grounded after plane cracks". The Sydney Morning Herald, 23 February 2007. Retrieved: 1 March 2007.
  8. ^ "Adam Air passengers ask for money back". The Jakarta Post, Retrieved: 1 March 2007.
  9. ^ "Mystery crash sparked air safety fears". MSN, Retrieved: 1 March 2007.
  10. ^ "Indonesia Grounds Adam Air's B737s After Buckling Incident". Aircraft Maintenance Technology (AMT), 8 July 2008. Retrieved: 18 October 2009.
  11. ^ "Indonesia's aviation safety agency to publish preliminary report into New Year's Day Adam Air crash despite failure to locate black boxes". Flightglobal.com, 5 March 2007. Retrieved: 5 March 2007.
  12. ^ This is based on Adam Air's website, which does not indicate that any routes are affected by any kind of delay, service limitation or cancellation.
  13. ^ "Indonesia's DGAC grounds Adam Air 737-300 fleet after latest accident".Flight International, 22 February 2007. Retrieved: 28 February 2007.
  14. ^ "Report: Adam B733 at Surabaya on Feb 21st 2007, hard landing off runway". The Aviation Herald. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
  15. ^ "Aircraft Accident Investigation Report - PT. Adam SkyConnection Airline (Adam Air) Boeing 737-300 ; PK–KKV Juanda Airport, Surabaya, East Java Republic of Indonesia" (PDF). NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY COMMITTEE, MINISTRY OF TRANSPORTATION, REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
  16. ^ a b "Falling skies for Indonesian aviation". Asia Times, 24 January 2007. Retrieved: 27 January 2007.
  17. ^ "Indonesia: Industry dogged by safety concerns, pilot shortage". Asia One, 1 December 2007. Retrieved: 18 October 2009.
  18. ^ "Plane ban after 'crack' landing". theage.com, 28 February 2007. Retrieved: 28 February 2007.
  19. ^ "Indonesia eyes ageing planes". Television New Zealand. 28 February 2007. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  20. ^ "Indonesia plans to reshuffle transportation ministry after accident: paper". People's Daily Online, 27 February 2007. Retrieved: 1 March 2007.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Adam_Air_Flight_172&oldid=538518879"