Indonesia finds Sriwijaya Air jet's cockpit voice recorder
Jakarta: Indonesian navy divers have recovered the cockpit voice recorder of a Sriwijaya Air jet that crashed into the Java Sea in January, killing all 62 people on board, officials said Wednesday.
Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said divers retrieved the cockpit recorder at about 08.00 pm. Tuesday local time, near where the flight data recorder was recovered three days after the accident.
The contents of the recorder were not immediately available. However, the device could help investigators determine what caused the Boeing 737-500 to nosedive into the ocean in heavy rain shortly after it took off from Jakarta on January 9.
If the voice recorder is undamaged, it might tell investigators what the pilots were doing or failing to do to regain control of the plane during its brief, erratic flight.
Searchers have recovered plane parts and human remains from an area between Lancang and Laki islands in the Thousand Island chain, just north of Jakarta. The flight data recorder tracked hundreds of parameters showing how the plane was being operated.
Most retrieval efforts ended about two weeks after the crash, but a limited search is continuing for the missing memory unit of the cockpit voice recorder, which apparently broke away from other parts of the device during the crash.
The bright orange voice recorder was taken to Jakarta and given to the National Transportation Safety Committee, which is overseeing the accident investigation.
We hope the KNKT could share information about what is contained in this VCR to improve our aviation safety, Sumadi said, referring to Indonesian acronym for the transportation committee.
The KNKT chairman, Soerjanto Tjahjono, said the device will be taken to the investigators' black box facility. It will take five to seven days to dry and clean the device and to download its data, he said.
Without the CVR...it would be difficult to determine the cause of the plane crash, Tjahjono said, We would disclose it transparently to avoid similar accidents in the future.
Rear Adm. Abdul Rasyid Kacong, the navy's western region fleet commander, said the voice recorder was buried under 1 metre (3 feet) of seabed mud at a depth of 23 metres (75 feet). Divers removed debris and carried out desludging operations to reach the voice recorder, he said.
Data from a preliminary investigation report, which didn't state any conclusions, showed that the plane's left engine's throttle lever moved backward on its own while the autopilot was engaged, reducing the power output of that engine before the jet plunged into the sea.
That report provided new details on persistent problems with an autothrottle on the 737-500 Sriwijaya Air jet and the airline's efforts to fix them. An autothrottle can be used by pilots to set the speed automatically, thereby reducing workload and wear on the engines.
The 26-year-old jet had been out of service for almost nine months because of flight cutbacks due to the pandemic before resuming commercial flights in December.
The disaster has reignited concerns about safety in the aviation industry, which has grown quickly along with the economy since the fall of dictator Suharto in the late 1990s. The US banned Indonesian carriers from operating in the country in 2007 but lifted that restriction in 2016, citing improved compliance with international aviation standards. The European Union lifted a similar ban in 2018.
Sriwijaya Air had had only minor safety incidents in the past, though a farmer was killed in 2008 when a plane went off the runway while landing due to a hydraulic issue.
In 2018, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 jet operated by Lion Air crashed shortly after taking off from the airport in Jakarta, killing 189 people. An automated flight-control system played a role in that crash, but the Sriwijaya Air jet did not have that system. (AP)
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PV Sindhu stranded in Dubai as flights remain suspended
New Delhi (PTI): Double Olympic medallist PV Sindhu was on Saturday left stranded at Dubai airport en route to the prestigious All England Open badminton tournament, after flight operations were suspended owing to escalation of tensions in the Middle East.
The tournament is scheduled to start from next Tuesday.
Sindhu took to Instagram and posted a video showing a crowded airport with a caption: "All flights suspended until further notice.”
Later, the Indian superstar shuttler said she was safe but stuck with her team. She added that the speed at which the tensions have escalated is “terrifying”.
“It’s hard to process what’s unfolding right now. Hearing the interceptions overhead and seeing how quickly everything has escalated is honestly terrifying,” Sindhu wrote on 'X'.
“So many disturbing videos are coming to light, and this is sadly the reality of what is happening. Dubai is a city I deeply love, a place that has always felt safe and full of life, which makes this moment even harder to comprehend.
“To everyone who has been messaging and checking in, thank you, it truly means a lot. I am safe right now, stuck here with my team, and we are doing okay as the situation around the war with Iran continues to evolve,” she added.
Sindhu said that airports are chaotic with many families “stranded and waiting”.
“Airports are chaotic, with many families stranded and waiting, all of us just hoping we get past this soon. I’m sure the authorities are doing everything in their power, and like everyone here, we’re holding on to patience and hope,” she wrote.
“Moments like these remind you how fragile normal life really is. Praying for safety and peace for everyone affected.”
The US and Israel launched a major offensive on Iran on Saturday, with American President Donald Trump calling on the Iranian public to overthrow the Islamic leadership that has ruled the nation since 1979.
The military strikes have led to a closure of air space in the Gulf region and caused disruption to several flights, including Emirates and Air India.
Air India cancelled all its flight to and from the Gulf region, mainly to Abu Dhabi, Dammam, Doha, Dubai, Jeddah, Muscat, Riyadh, and Tel Aviv, Israel, the airline said in a statement posted on 'X'.
The Dubai airport too suspended all operations indefinitely due to airspace closures following missile strikes involving the US, Israel and Iran.
