Signals detected from what is believed to be the black boxes are expected to shed light on the mystery of Lion Air flight JT-610, which crashed on Monday off Karawang. The search and rescue team has focused its search on the targeted location of the aircraft’s flight recorders.
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DANIAL ADE KURNIAWAN
Divers from the Jalamangkara Detachment (Denjaka), a counterterrorism elite special force of the Indonesian Navy, and Taifib, an elite reconnaissance unit of the Indonesian Marine Corps, prepare diving equipment on Wednesday (31/10/2018) to search for black boxes based on the location detected by the Baruna Jaya I Research Ship on Karawang waters, Karawang regency, West Java. As of Wednesday evening, search activities had not produced results, but several divers said they had seen turbine machines on the seabed.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS — The KR Baruna Jaya I research vessel of the Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology (BPPT), along with the joint search and rescue (SAR) team, detected on Wednesday (31/10/2018) pings that were believed to be coming from the so-called black boxes (flight recorders) of the Lion Air plane, registration code PK-LQP, which crashed into the waters off Karawang on Monday.
The agency’s deputy chairman of natural resources development technology, Hammam Riza, said that the signals from the suspected black boxes were detected by Baruna Jaya I’s USBL transponder at 12:45 p.m.
The aircraft’s fuselage and flight recorders are believed to be located 15 kilometers off Karawang.
The flight recorders are important because they record data on the Lion Air flight and communication in the cockpit and with the air traffic control tower before it crashed. After they are recovered, the data will be downloaded, verified and analyzed. The results of the analysis are expected to uncover the mystery of the cause behind the crash.
National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) chairman Soerjanto Tjahjono said that analyzing the data would take 3-5 months, depending on the data’s complexity.
The National Search and Rescue Agency’s (Basarnas) operations and readiness deputy chairman, Nugroho Budi Wiryanto, told a press conference that search efforts on Thursday would focus on finding the flight recorders.
“Four ships will be equipped with subsea positioning equipment to support the search efforts,” he said, adding that the surface search would continue, including locating the victims of the crash.
“After the black boxes are discovered, the search for the victims will continue,” he said.
Divers immediately set out to locate the flight recorders after the signal was detected on Wednesday.
Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto, who visited Baruna Jaya I, heard two pings. “It sounded like ‘ping, ping’. The beacon is there. The closer [we are], the louder [it is],” he said.
The SAR team directed its search to locating the fuselage in the northwest, or less than 400 meters from the coordinates of the suspected site of the downed plane.
“We have looked the seabed, not the surface. So we are convinced that the fuselage should be nearby. Its positioning signal is being emitted, but it has not been visually confirmed because of the strong current,” Basarnas chairman Air Marshal Muhammad Syaugi tldo a press conference on Wednesday evening at the Jakarta International Container Terminal (JICT) in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta.
The Naval Fleet Command I’s underwater recovery unit (Dislambair) haed, Col. Monang Sitompul, said that divers had not located the fuselage by 5 p.m. on Wednesday. The divers will continue with their search according to the information from the Rigel and the Baruna Jaya I, which are equipped with the subsea positioning equipment.
Monang said that undersea current was very strong and rapid, reaching 10 knots, and the debris had drifted away so efforts were no longer concentrated at one location. “Lighter luggage will surely have drifted away,” he said.
Dislambair divers Fery, 30, said that plane debris was found on the seabed at the last search location, including life jackets and several rupiah bills. However, the fuselage was not located.
Questioning airline officials
On Wednesday, Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi asked Lion Air to release its technical director, Muhammad Asif, from his duties for questioning in connection with the Lion Air crash.
”We ask (Lion Air) to release the technical director and replace him with another official. Also the technical equipment that was used to give the recommendation that the plane be allowed fly,” he said.
The ministry would intensify ramp checks, especially for Lion Air. However, it has not sanctioned the budget carrier. “Corporate sanctions will be place after the KNKT completes its [plane crash] investigation,” said Budi.
Lion Air Group corporate communications officer Danang Mandala said the airline would implement any instructions and decisions from the Transportation Ministry to release Muhammad Asif from his duties as technical director.
”Lion Air has appointed Muhammad Rusli as the acting technical director of Lion Air,” said Danang.
With regard to identifying the recovered remains, officers from the National Police’s Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) unit have identified one of the victims as Jannatun Cintya Dewi. Her identity was confirmed by a gold ring on her right hand that matched a photograph her family had provided. Her remains were handed over to the family on Wednesday evening.
