Indonesia S Airlines Support Stricter Safety Regulations
Posted on: Tuesday, 13 September 2005, 09:00 CDT
Indonesia s airlines support stricter safety regulations
JAKARTA, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- Airliners in Indonesia say they are ready for a possible tightening of the industry's safety regulations following the crash of a Mandala Air Boeing-737, which killed 149 people in the capital of North Sumatra province of Medan last week.
Many carriers pledged to upgrade aging aircraft and continue to adhere to strict international safety standards, the airliners said.
"Safety and maintenance have always been our No. 1 priority," the Jakarta Post daily on Monday quoted president director of national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, Emirsyah Satar, as saying.
He said Garuda aircraft regularly underwent audits from the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) and by similar agencies from Japan and South Korea.
Meanwhile, PT Merpati Nusantara Airlines corporate secretary Jaka Pujiyono said Merpati also planned to upgrade 11 Boeing 737- 200 aircraft in its 36-strong fleet. Merpati had long scheduled the upgrade in its business plans and it had nothing to do with the government's moves following the accident, he said.
Low-cost carriers assured the safety was their priority, with an official of a popular budget airliner mentioning how all the 36 aircraft his company operates were relatively new, of post-1989 production, and properly maintained.
The official, who requested anonymity, strenuously denied notions that budget carriers were sacrificing flight safety and aircraft maintenance to keep their operational costs down.
In a stepped-up drive to boost safety in the domestic airline industry, the government grounded four Boeing 737-200 planes operated by four different airlines due to problems found in those aircraft.
In an impromptu visit to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport over the weekend, Indonesian Minister of Transportation Hatta Radjasa oversaw random safety checks on selected domestic airliners following the recent crash of a Mandala Airlines aircraft.
Hatta said one aircraft had a problem with its wheel system, which caused tremors during takeoff. Another aircraft had a problem with its brakes. But, he did not disclose the problems of the other two. The minister said he had admonished the pilot for failing to immediately report the problem.
The minister said last week during a meeting with the House of Representatives Commission V on transportation, that the government would intensify random checks on domestic airlines to ensure that planes were being properly maintained.
Source: Xinhua News Agency - CEIS
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