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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]Pieces of wreckage have been confirmed as found on January 11, 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.[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]

Naval ships combed the Makassar Strait while military personnel went through jungles and mountains of Sulawesi.[27] 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.[27] 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.[28] The two separate locations produced on radar screens are a spot on the sea in Majene and on land in Rantepao, Tana Toraja.[29][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.[30]

The plane's tracking equipment and emergency locator beacon may have been damaged after the crash or weakened by interference, further hampering the search.[31] The head of the National Search and Rescue Agency has told the Associated Press that he believes the aircraft was probably lost at sea.[31] 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.[32] 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.[33] Officials have said that it is unlikely any bodies have survived in one piece.[34]

Discovery of wreckage

On Monday, 8 January, three large metal objects, suspected to be wreckage, were detected by the Indonesian ship Fatahillah's sonar.[35][36] 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.[35] 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 5 crews was sent to aid with aerial mapping of the suspected location on January 9.[37]The Indonesian Marine and Fishery Department has since suggested that the metal objects could instead be instruments deployed to study the underwater sea current.[36]

The tail's right horizontal stabilizer was found by a fisherman, south of Pare Pare, about 300 metres off the beach on January 11.[38] This was confirmed by serial number.[39] Later the same day, 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.[36] Nine other parts of the aircraft, including passenger seats, life jackets, a food tray, part of an aircraft tyre, eight pieces of aluminium and fibre, an ID card, a flare and a headrest have also been recovered from the area.[36][40][41]

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's. Latest news suggest that the woman was not one of the passengers. She was just a local inhabitant who had left home for several days.

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.[42] 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.[43][44] 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.[44] There will also be a wider investigation into Indonesia's transport system as a whole.[36] 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.[40] 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.[45]

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. ^ 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. ^ a b Ahmad Pathoni (3 January 2007). "Anger as Indonesia resumes search for airliner". Reuters. Retrieved 2007-01-03.
  28. ^ "Possible in-flight blast caused plane crash on land and sea". Asianews.it. Retrieved 2007-01-04.
  29. ^ "Bisa Jadi Pesawat AdamAir Meledak di Udara". Detik.com. Retrieved 2007-01-04.
  30. ^ "Pesawat Lion Air Terima Sinyal Bahaya di Laut Banda". Liputan 6 SCTV. Retrieved 2007-01-05.
  31. ^ a b "Ocean scoured for Indonesia jet". CNN. Retrieved 2007-01-03.
  32. ^ "Indonesia shifts search for missing plane after beacon signal". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 2007-01-05.
  33. ^ "Daunting task as Indonesia steps up airliner search". Channel NewsAsia. Retrieved 2007-01-08.
  34. ^ Indonesia plane search narrows after debris found - thestar.com - Retrieved on January 12, 2007
  35. ^ a b "Airline hunt spots metal in sea". BBC. Retrieved 2007-01-08.
  36. ^ a b c d e More Adam Air plane wreckage discovered - The Daily Telegraph (Australia) - Obtained on 11 January, 2007
  37. ^ "Kanada Kirim Sebuah Pesawat Bantu Cari Adam Air". Media Indonesia. 2007-01-09.
  38. ^ "Tail of missing Indonesian plane found". Sydney Morning Herald. 2007-01-10.
  39. ^ Pieces of missing plane found in Indonesian waters - Kare11.com - Obtained 11 January, 2007
  40. ^ a b Fishermen find parts of jetliner - CNN - Obtained 11 January, 2007
  41. ^ Parts of lost Indonesian jet found - MWC News - Obtained January 11, 2007
  42. ^ "Missing Indonesian aircraft still missing despite claims of survivors" (Press release). e-Travel Blackboard. Retrieved 2007-01-02.
  43. ^ "Mountains searched for Indonesian aircraft". Financial Times. Retrieved 2007-01-03.
  44. ^ a b U.S. Aviation Experts Are Helping With the Investigation - KNX - retrieved on January 7, 2007.
  45. ^ Wreckage of missing Indonesian plane found - The Brunei Times Obtained on January 12, 2007
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