For their relatives in the Lion Air crash, Boeing’s return brings memories | Business and Economy

Medan, Indonesia – When Indonesia announced that a Boeing 737 Max would be allowed to fly in the air after a ban for almost three years, Anton Sahadi’s memory of the Lion Air Flight 610 came back to haunt him.

“I was a little shocked to hear that the ban had been lifted,” said Anton Sahadi, whose wife died of the deaths of two 24-year-old relatives when his relatives died. the plane crashed in the Java Sea on 29 October 2018, told Al Jazeera.

“I do not see why it should have happened so soon when we were still sad.”

The Indonesian Ministry of Transport allowed the Boeing 737 Max to fly at the end of last month, following in-depth monitoring of the aircraft and a number of changes announced by Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee.

Lion Air crash, which killed all 189 people, and Ethiopian Airlines crash in less than five months. established 737 Max aircraft worldwide and reduced the cost of a Boeing unit. Indonesia was one of the last countries to remove a plane to fly again after lifting sanctions on United States, China, India, Europe, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan and Australia.

Sahadi realized that there was a problem with the Lion Air Flight 610 from the bottom line of the program that aired on Indonesian radio video on October 29, 2018.

There was a shocking news: Flight 610 lost contact with the airline within 13 minutes from Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang in the Bangka-Belitung Islands.

“My wife was in Mecca in Saudi Arabia at the time and it was she who told me that her relatives Riyan Aryandi and Ravi Andrian had boarded the plane immediately to their destination,” Sahadi said, describing his visit. drove blindfolded to Soekarno Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, breaking the border and arriving on time.

“One time, I saw the show and I knew he was on a plane.”

The cause of the crash was not immediately clear until the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed en route to Kenya from Addis Ababa on March 10, 2019, killing all 157 occupants. Flight 302 was also 737 Max.

The Lion Air leather report published about a year after the crash pointed the wrong finger at the design of the aircraft.

“When we investigated, we found that there were a number of shortcomings that needed to be addressed, especially with MCAS,” Surjanto, head of the Indonesia National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC), told Al Jazeera.

MCAS, or Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, is an aircraft design software based on the new Boeing 737 Max models.

“Once the plane enters the cage, the machine can prevent the cage from occurring,” Surjanto said. “The purpose of the plan was good but the weakness was that it did not properly explain to the pilots what was going on and this led to chaos.”

On Lion Air Flight 610, the sensor on the outside of the aircraft indicated, incorrectly, that the plane’s nose was too high and that the aircraft was in danger of landing. This prompted MCAS to take action and force the plane’s nose to stay afloat.

Unaware of what was happening, the pilots searched through the aircraft’s guide to create a precautionary measure before landing in Java.

Ravi Andrian is one of 189 people who lost their lives on Lion Air Flight 610 [Courtesy of Anton Sahadi]

Sujanto, head of NTSC, said arranging the plane to fly again after the accident affected check and systems.

“There have been a number of changes to both pilot programs and pilot training to ensure that more is done to make 737 Max aircraft safer,” he said.

Ethiopian Airlines has announced the lifting of its ban in February 2022.

A Boeing spokesman told Al Jazeera that Indonesia’s idea was “crucial in returning 737 MAX to work in Indonesia”.

“Boeing continues to work with pilots and our customers to bring the aircraft back into operation around the world.”

The aircraft manufacturer states on its page that the MCAS has been modified so that it “operates in an unusual environment and now relies on two sensors, operates only once and does not exceed the capacity of pilots.”

‘Doubt or fear’

It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post.

“Even if 737 Max is considered safe, it is possible that there will still be people who are skeptical or fearful,” Gerry Soejatman, a pilot in Jakarta, told Al Jazeera.

Prior to the ban, Indonesian pilot Garuda used one 737 Max aircraft, but said he did not want to return it for use on a debt restructuring plan that would reduce its current fleet from 142 to 66 aircraft.

Lion Air operates 10 737 Max aircraft which, according to Soejatman, leaves the team with little chance but to continue flying or piloting all aircraft.

“It will take time, maybe time for people to stop panicking, or time for the plane to be returned to the lender,” he said.

For the relatives of the victims, such as Sahadi, suspicion persists. Although Ravi’s body was identified after the crash, Riyan’s remains were never recovered.

“This was difficult. “We could not bury him,” said Sahadi. “I believe the government has proven it all carefully and put all the necessary measures in place.”

“I hope they will not risk their lives for the sake of business.”