Indonesian authorities release preliminary report on Sriwijaya Air crash.
Indonesian authorities reported Wednesday that a mechanical failure in an engine throttle lever may have caused the crash of the Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737 on Jan. 9.
See also: Air France and Airbus are requested to prosecuted for crash flight AF447.
The preliminary report, published Wednesday by the National Transportation Safety Committee, indicates, according to EFE, that as the aircraft gained altitude, the automatic throttle on the left engine was reduced, while that of the right engine remained stable.
According to the data obtained by the flight recorder, the aircraft, which has been in service for almost 27 years, took off without problems, engaged the autopilot and upon reaching 8,150 feet began to experience problems with the throttle lever.
See also: Serious incident reported with two planes over Caribbean Sea.
The aircraft climbed to 10,900 feet and from that altitude stalled until crashing into the Java Sea, in waters near Jakarta.
“The left (throttle lever) was moving too far back, while the right one was not moving or seemed stuck. We don’t know which of the two was malfunctioning,” Nurcahyo Utomo, head of the aviation committee, told a news conference.
A few days before the accident and on two occasions, pilots reported the automatic throttle malfunction, which was repaired by technicians.
Indonesian authorities said they are still trying to locate one of the black boxes, which records cockpit conversations, so they do not know why the pilot was unable to regain control of the aircraft.
The reason for the abrupt change of direction to the left before the dive is also unknown.
Utomo said the preliminary report focused on the aircraft’s automatic throttle system and about 13 related aircraft components, as well as the aircraft’s maintenance record and possible human factors involved.
The crash of the Sriwajaya Air plane is the latest in a long history of airplane crashes in the vast Indonesian archipelago.
Indonesia, with more than 17,000 islands, is the most dangerous flying country in Asia having suffered 104 civilian air crashes with 2,301 fatalities since 1945, according to data from the Aviation Safety Network.
The worst accident in Indonesian aviation history occurred in September 1997, when an Airbus of the flag carrier Garuda crashed in the north of the island of Sumatra, resulting in the death of all 234 people on board.
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