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Pilot sentenced to 2 years for crash
The Associated Press , Yogyakarta | Mon, 04/06/2009 3:42 PM | National
Pilot sentenced: Judges at Sleman District Court on Monday read out their verdict for Capt Pilot M. Marwoto Komar, the pilot of Garuda Indonesia jet that crashed in Yogyakarta two years ago, killing 21 passengers. The court sentenced Marwoto to two years in prison. JP/Tarko Sudiarno
Yogyakarta's Sleman District Court has sentenced pilot Capt. Marwoto Komar to two years in prison for crasing a jetliner in 2007, killing 21 people.
Komar was approaching the Yogyakarta runway at almost double the normal speed when his Garuda Boeing 737-400 careered into a rice paddy and burst into flames.
He is accused of disregarding repeated alerts indicating it was not safe to land - including at least one by his co-pilot urging him to circle around again.
"His negligence caused loss of life," presiding judge Sri Andini told the packed Sleman District Court as he handed down his verdict.
Komar - who together with the co-pilot and 117 others survived the crash - blamed mechanical problems and said he would appeal.
Among the dead and injured were Australian diplomats, police, military personnel and journalists who were following a visit by Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer to the central Javan city.
Indonesia has had a string of deadly plane crashes since 2005. Experts say poor maintenance, rule-bending and a shortage of properly trained pilots may contribute to the country's poor aviation safety record.
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Kelono (not verified) — Mon, 04/13/2009 - 10:34am
Please read carefuly regarding the court. Mr. Marwoto was a stand alone victim. I read from some aviation disaster sources that the fatal accident in the world was caused by not single factor. I am sure all of us know while Mr. Marwoto was landing the aircraft in the wrong touchdown point of the runway, all of passengers on board still alive. Surprisingly few minutes later the passengers trapped by smoke and fire at rice paddy beyond his control then killing 27 souls.
My question: who is responsible for this condition?
PIlot32 (not verified) — Mon, 04/13/2009 - 4:21am
Speaking from a professional pilot's perspective the Judicial system in Indonesia is a joke. I am strongly against this. WHY?
The reason, in flying there are so many complex elements (external or internal) occur during phases of flights, especially during landing. What happened here, during the approach the aircraft experienced a wind shear that made the groundspeed increased exponentially and at the time he made a quick decision that the best option was to land the aircraft which destroyed the aircraft and had 21 fatalities.
The decision to sentence him is just a tool to point a scape goat, put this case to a rest, and make the public happy. An external aviation experts was lightly involved in investigating, and in reaching to this poor decision. Those bozos in the court room know what about aviation except how to use a seat belts. And they use that background to make a sentence.
What a SHAME.
Iain — Sat, 04/11/2009 - 12:01am
What is most disgusting is that after all that everyone has been through, the emotion he knows the victims and their families have been through - he lies.
21 families have lost family members... lost them forever, a lot longer than two years.
How many people on that plane have injuries that will last a lot longer than two years... most likely a lifetime. One journalist on that flight has severe burn injuries and lost both her legs. That is her life sentence!
And he changes his story and lies through his teeth (and now the co-pilot claims he blacked out and can't offer evidence)
Shame, shame, shame!!!
Angelo De Priocca (not verified) — Fri, 04/10/2009 - 9:35am
Oh cmon guys this fellow is not a newbie in the aviation business, he is a senior captain, what incriminates him even further by the way, is that he knows his job. There is no way around it, he is guilty. The aircraft crashed due to a dangerous mixture of over confidence and ego. That’s the killer. Not a lack of training, I don’t believe that for a second. He knows how to fly a 737 on the back of his hand I’m sure. Training pilots focuses to much on technical aspects and not enough on a physiological evaluation, stress handling and so forth. One possible explanation is that he stayed high and hot to save fuel, pilots sometimes get bonuses for saving fuel.
It was said that captain Komar first words after the crash were “ Kok bisa sampai begitu?”
No doubt in my mind, overconfidence is our killer.
WangFu (not verified) — Wed, 04/08/2009 - 12:34am
If pilot's inability to execute his job is a criminal offence, then the people who were responsible for his training, and the people who deemed him fit to fly, should also be held accountable for the loss of life that resulted. It's not like the pilot made an individual decision to show up drunk or without enough sleep for his job.
This airline is banned from flying to Europe and N. America due to safety concerns. Holding this one individual accountable, and shipping him off to jail to appease everyone, is just a cover-up for problems that are systemic with this airline.
This pilot's actions are a symptom of the problem. Fix the problem. Fix the airline. Until then, everyone travelling on this airline is rolling the dice, and trying their luck.
Airline review (not verified) — Tue, 04/07/2009 - 4:59pm
What a joke, 24 months for 21 lives for essentially what was at least culpable manslaughter. No wonder the Indonesian judiciary and airline system are considered a joke in most of the world.
Arjen (not verified) — Tue, 04/07/2009 - 3:01pm
I would not be surprised to see Capt. Marwoto Komar in two years time flying again, this time with Adam Air or Lion Air perhaps.
Vernon Thiede (not verified) — Tue, 04/07/2009 - 2:21pm
There is no excuse for shooting an approach at twice the normal Vref speed. Capt. Komar should have either slowed the plane down earlier on the approach using the spoilers or he could have lowered the gear earlier than he did to induce enough drag.
But once he was at his MDA (Minimum Decision Altitude) and saw he was coming in hot (too fast), he should have initiated a go around.
On the next approach he could have slowed the plane down to the correct Vref and landed the plane safely. A go around is never a bad decision unless lack of fuel dictates no option for a go around. But lack of fuel was not an issue with this flight.
Kasihan!
Denn (not verified) — Tue, 04/07/2009 - 1:17pm
Lifetime no less
agaian indonesian system is F...
David Russell (not verified) — Tue, 04/07/2009 - 9:14am
In such a religious country, how can the sanctity of life be treated so lightly? Under the prophet Moses' law, carelessly causing loss of life was potentially a capital offense; but in this court two years' imprisonment. . . How does this compare with 20 years' sentence for the foolish woman who took 4 kg of marihuana into Bali? There is justice, and there is 'justice'.