Indonesia to inspect Boeing planes

International Desk: Indonesia has ordered inspections on all the country's commercial Boeing 737-Max 8 planes, after one crashed into the sea with 189 people on board.

The Lion Air jet went down shortly after take-off near the capital, Jakarta, on Monday. There are no known survivors.

Searchers have recovered debris, bodies and personal items. They are looking for the fuselage and flight recorders.

Boeing launched its 737-Max 8 model last year.

The plane that crashed went into service just a few months ago.

On Tuesday Indonesia's transport ministry said all Max 8 aircraft belonging to Indonesian commercial airlines would be inspected, but it stopped short of grounding them.

Meanwhile Lion Air, the country's largest low-cost airline, said it would meet a Boeing team on Wednesday.

"We have many questions for them. This was a new plane," Lion Air director Daniel Putut told reporters.

Boeing has said it stands "ready to provide technical assistance to the accident investigation".

Indonesia, a vast archipelago, is heavily reliant on air travel but many of its airlines have a poor safety record.

Lion Air was banned from flying into European airspace until 2016.

Flight JT610 was heading for the western city of Pangkal Pinang when it went down 13 minutes after taking off from Jakarta.

Officials say the pilot had asked to return to Soekarno-Hatta airport before losing contact with air traffic control.

A log obtained by the BBC showed the plane had experienced technical problems while flying from Bali to Jakarta the previous day.

The log showed one instrument was giving "unreliable" airspeed readings and the captain had to hand over to the first officer. Altitude readings also differed on the captain and first officer's instruments.

Lion Air chief executive Edward Sirait said on Tuesday that the plane had been repaired before being allowed to fly again.

Source: BBC


risingbd/Oct 31, 2018/Mukul