Experts struggle to identify Indonesia crash dead
Source: Reuters
(Adds minister comments) By Dwi Prasetyo YOGYAKARTA, March 8 (Reuters) - Experts struggled on Thursday to identify bodies badly burned when an Indonesian plane overshot a runway and burst into flames as it landed in the cultural capital of Yogyakarta, killing more than 20 people. National carrier Garuda Indonesia said only nine of the dead had been identified from the Wednesday morning crash that has brought the state of Indonesian air travel safety back into the spotlight. "They are charred beyond recognition. I could not describe it in words," said Garuda official Laras Widhyo in Yogyakarta when asked about the rest of the dead. "Some of (the unaccounted) were our frequent flyers but we could only guess which bodies are them. Forensic teams have been struggling since yesterday to identify them," he told Reuters. The ill-fated flight GA 200 was a Boeing 737-400 plane carrying 133 passengers and seven crew when it crashed after a scheduled flight from Jakarta. The airline and other sources have given slightly different figures on the number of dead, ranging from 20 to 23. No official finding has been announced on the accident's cause, but transport investigators have descended on Yogyakarta. Indonesian crash investigators plan to question the pilot and co-pilot who escaped without major injuries. Transport Minister Hatta Radjasa said the national transport safety board has found the plane's black box which would be sent to Australia so important data could be retrieved. Indonesian national police spokesman Sisno Adiwinoto said preliminary indications suggested human error. "We have gathered initial views on the cause of the accident and it leads to human error due to the landing," he said while queuing in Jakarta's airport for a Garuda flight to Makassar. Gary Lawson-Smith, head of the Aviation Safety Foundation of Australia, said human error was a major factor in aviation incidents and poor training can remain hidden until an accident occurs. HUMAN ERROR? "But the human factor is not just the human at the front of the aircraft but also the organisation's culture, competition and regulators," he told Reuters. Aviation experts say Garuda's safety record has improved in recent years, especially after a 1997 accident on Sumatra island which killed all 234 people on board. The only deadly accident between that and Wednesday's was an emergency landing in a Java river which killed one crew member in 2002. The Wednesday flight was also carrying some Australians who had been accompanying Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, who was not aboard, on a visit to Indonesia. Five of the group are feared dead and Australian experts are in Yogyakarta to assist the victim identification process. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has also ordered his chief security minister to probe the accident from "non-technical" angles, although Indonesian and Australian officials have been quick to suggest there were no early signs of terrorism or sabotage in the disaster. Yogyakarta, around 440 km (270 miles) southeast of Jakarta, is known as the cultural heart of Indonesia and is popular with tourists. Its Adisucipto airport is known for its short runway. Indonesia has suffered a string of transport accidents in recent months, including an Adam Air plane that disappeared in January with 102 passengers and crew on board, and a ferry sinking in late December in which hundreds died. There has been no apparent drop in air transport demand although Indonesia has suffered two deadly plane accidents in less than three months. "Death and longevity are God's mystery. Why should we be afraid," said Thamrin Indrajaya, 57, after buying a Garuda ticket at Jakarta's airport for the resort island of Bali. (With additional reporting by Mita Valina Liem, Telly Nathalia and Muklis Ali in Jakarta, Michael Perry in Sydney and Rob Taylor in Canberra)
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