DITCHING - Garuda's B737-300 Flight GA-421 was forced to make the ditching on the Bengawan Solo Tributary./Foto: Dok.KOMPAS
|
A Garuda Boeing 737-300 plane made an emergency landing, ditching on the Bengawan Solo Tributary in Juwiring sub district, Klaten Regency, Central Java at 16.35 p.m. on Wednesday January 16, 2002, killing Santi Anggraeni, one of the stewardesses. From a ruptured hole made on hitting a big river stone during
its landing impact with the river water, she was sucked out from the cabin plane and was the only casualty out of the four other aircraft crews and 54 passengers.
The aircraft, piloted by senior Captain Abdul Rozaq, 45, logging 16.020 hours and 30 minutes flying hours and senior Co-pilot Heriyadi Gunawan (46) with 17. 137 hours and 24 minutes flying hours, was forced to make the ditching after Flight GA-421 Garuda's Boeing 737-300 en-route from Ampenan
(Lombok Island) to Yogyakarta and Jakarta suffered both engines flame out as it was approaching Yogyakarta.
Prior of the emergency landing, the aircraft was engulfed in a Cb (Cumulus nimbus) cloud with thunderstorm and heavy rain pouring its body. Some minutes later abruptly both engines flame out, but both cockpit crews were able to control the plane and gliding it out from the clouds.
"Bad weather is only one of the factors that might have caused the flame out and compelled the plane's pilot to make a forced landing," said Abdulgani, Garuda's president director. The pilots were lowering the plane from an altitude of 32.000 feet to 23.000 feet when they entered thick clouds of storm and torrential
rain and minutes later both engine suddenly stopped functioning.
Both FDR (Flight Data Recorder) and CVR (Cockpit Voice Recorder) black boxes of the ill-fated 80 ton plane has been found and were immediately sent to the United States for reading its data.
Following the accident, Garuda paid each passenger a compensation fee of Rp 50 million (about US$5.000), and the heirs of Santi Anggraeni was given US$75.000. While each of the wounded passengers received Rp 20 million and the dead stewardesses' next of kin was given Rp 40 million from state-owned
insurance company Jasa Raharja-Central Java chapter.
(ds)
