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Lion Air on the spot for pilot's alleged lewd behavior
The Transportation Ministry has ordered the countryâs largest low-cost carrier, Lion Air, to launch an internal probe following reports of lewd behavior displayed by one of its co-pilots during a flight from Surabaya, East Java, to the resort island of Bali on Nov
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he Transportation Ministry has ordered the country's largest low-cost carrier, Lion Air, to launch an internal probe following reports of lewd behavior displayed by one of its co-pilots during a flight from Surabaya, East Java, to the resort island of Bali on Nov. 14.
Ministry spokesman Julius Andravida Barata said on Wednesday that the government would leave the alleged incident ' which came to the surface following a report filed by a man named Lambertus Maengkong on website bandara.web.id complaining about the co-pilot's alleged misconduct ' in the hands of Lion Air management.
'[The report] might have been submitted [to us] but since its content concerns Lion Air internal affairs, we will see if there is a follow-up [to the report] and whether it [Lion Air] does anything to reprimand the culprit [of the alleged incident]. We will monitor how the company manages the problem internally,' he told The Jakarta Post.
In the report, Lambertus claimed that while he was onboard a delayed Lion Air flight from Surabaya to Bali on Nov. 14, the pilot announced over the PA system that he was offering a female flight attendant to passengers as compensation for the delay.
Following the announcement, Lambertus said he heard strange noises that sounded like moaning over the PA system. Local media reports said the sound of the moaning persisted throughout the duration of the flight.
Lion Air general affairs director Edward Sirait said the airline had launched an investigation into the report, with several findings.
'First, there is a violation of announcement procedure by our co-pilot in the form of a birthday greeting to one of the cabin crew,' he said in a press statement on Wednesday.
Edward also addressed the report of the moaning sound, saying that it was merely the breathing sound of the co-pilot.
'When the co-pilot made the announcement, his breathing sounded too strong [that's the way he speaks] and the position of the microphone was too close to his lips and so, when he took a breath or when he wanted to speak, it sounded like moaning,' he said.
Edward added that the co-pilot was not intoxicated while flying the plane.
'He was neither intoxicated nor under the effect of drugs as reported. He was healthy. This fact is backed up by testimonies from the pilot in command as well as other cabin crew,' he said.
That said, Lion Air decided to ground the co-pilot in question for violating the announcement procedure.
'For the announcement procedure violation related to the birthday wish, the co-pilot has received his penalty by being grounded,' Edward said.
Lion Air PR manager Andy M. Saladin, meanwhile, said that the co-pilot had been grounded for an indefinite period of time in order to make it easier for the airline to collect information.
'If in the future it is proven that our co-pilot is violating [the regulation] by committing indecencies, then we will give a strong punishment based on existing regulations,' he said on Wednesday.
Other Lion Air officials have denied the alleged indecencies taking place.
Lion Air operational director Daniel Putut Kuncoro Adi said on late Tuesday that no such report was filed.
