737 Crashes in Indonesia, 22 dead

An Aircraft has crashed and exploded in Indonesia at yogyakata airport carrying possible up to 133 people

Reports are that 8 have been pulled out dead so far, some have been taken to hospital

there are reports that Australian gov officials are also on board

The Boeing 737-400 was carrying an undetermined number of Australian journalists and diplomatic staff who were in Indonesia with the country's foreign minister, said Australian Treasurer Peter Costello. The foreign minister was reportedly not on the plane.

"I saw at least eight corpses piled up at the front of the plane," said Capt. Yos Biantoro, who was at the scene of the fire at Yogyakarta airport in central Java.

hosted.ap.org...

[edit on 6-3-2007 by asala]

[edit on 6-3-2007 by asala]

[edit on 7-3-2007 by asala]

Latest

140 on board,

8 deaths,

The air frame *Split like a lobster" said a man who was there,

70 have been rescued, Very serious injuries, reports of people being pulled out on fire,

this is a regular flight,

This comes the same day as the quake hit killing 70 ,

no idea what has happend to this plane yet,





[edit on 6-3-2007 by asala]

Seems to be some confusion on what type of plane was involved as this article says a 737-200 with 10 confirmed killed and many trapped.
www.news.com.au...

Seems the news are now saying 737, So edited my title to correct it,

is it just me, or does indonesia have the worst luck?!

Sinking ferries, earthquakes, floods, mudslides, crashing planes.....

yeah, this is the second air disaster there in six months. maybe there should be an internal review of safety?

Tell me about it, Poor place needs some good vibes sent its way.

Reports this mornig are that 22 people have died in this,

news.sky.com...

The state-owned Garuda airline, which operated the Boeing 737-400, confirmed that 118 people had survived.

Survivors described how they scrambled through emergency doors moments before fire raced through the cabin.

Investigators have found the plane's flight data recorders which may be sent to Australia or the US for examination.

Indonesia's president has announced an investigation into the crash 440km (270 miles) south-east of Jakarta.

Seems alot had a very lucky escape.

news.bbc.co.uk...

here is a link to some of the pics also

news.bbc.co.uk...

Update:

There saying that this looks liek a tragic accident rather than a possible act or terror, Rumours had spread when the plane first crashed and exploded on the ground,

hosted.ap.org...

Possible cause:

Preliminary investigation results indicate that the plane landed fast with the flaps not selected correcly for landing.

Aviation Safety Network

The pilots were well above the glide slope, WAY too fast, and had the wrong flap setting at touch down. The first officer tried to tell the captain they needed to go around, but the captain ignored him. They were at approximately 210-220 knots at touch down, where normal landing speed for this type of aircraft is 140 knots.

The Garuda Indonesia Boeing 737-400 that crashed at Yogyakarta airport last month made its final approach well above the glideslope, touched down considerably faster than the normal landing speed, and did not have its flaps set in a typical landing configuration.

Chief investigator Mardjono Siswosuwarno says the aircraft touched down on Yogyakarta airport's runway 09 at a "much higher than normal speed". Although he says "we still need to verify the figure", local reports say it was between 210kt (389km/h) and 220kt, instead of the typical 140kt for a 737-400 landing.

Mardjono also says the aircraft was "quite high above the glideslope" on final approach and its flaps were only set at 5° on touchdown, rather than the typical 30-40°. As a result of the high speed and a steep descent the aircraft touched down hard on the runway and its nose-gear axle broke on landing. It then skidded off the runway into a paddy field where it burst into flames. He says the information is contained in the National Transportation Safety Commission's preliminary factual report into the 7 March crash, which killed 21 of the 140 people on board.

www.flightglobal.com...

What a terrible reason for a crash, almost as bad as deliberate flight into terrain. I would have preferred if it had been mechanical or avionic defect, that is far easier to prevent and predict in future events, than the pilot's decisions.