Plane that crashed in Indonesia had technical problems on a previous flight
The pilot of the Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX that crashed in Indonesia reported technical problems to air traffic control early in the penultimate flight and requested an emergency landing.
The plane crashed early on its next flight, the head of the Bali, Nusa and Tengara Airports Authority Kherson told Reuters.
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| Photo: Sputnik |
According to him, the pilot reported the problems to air traffic control after taking off from Bali to Jakarta on October 28. He then contacted the dispatcher again and said everything had been resolved and the flight would continue. According to the official, the captain of the flight was absolutely sure that he would make it to Jakarta.
The pilot of another plane, which flew to Bali shortly after the Lion Air plane took off, told the news agency that he was ordered to circle the airport and listen to the crew's radio communication from the stricken plane to the ground. He clarified that the Lion Air Boeing issued a Pan-Pan signal five minutes after takeoff — an emergency signal, second in importance only to Mayday — and requested clearance to land.
The person who spoke to Reuters confirmed that after a while, the Lion Air pilot announced that the problem had been resolved and he would continue the flight. After that, other planes were allowed to land.
Lion Air CEO Edward Syrite had earlier spoken of a "technical issue" with the plane during the Bali-Jakarta flight. According to him, the problem had been resolved "in accordance with procedures".
On the morning of October 29, a Lion Air Boeing 737 crashed after taking off from Jakarta to Pangalpinang. All 189 people on board were killed.
Indonesia's Transport Ministry later suspended the airline's technical director and three top managers who had made recommendations to the crew before the flight.
The crashed aircraft was put into use in 2017.
