bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

SCMP Reporter

Indonesia's air safety record is again being called into question after a passenger jet burst into flames  yesterday, killing dozens of people in the country's second aviation tragedy in nine weeks.

The accident 'reinforces the view that the culture of safety is almost non-existent in Indonesia,' said Shukor Yusof,  an aviation analyst with Standard & Poor's  equity research in Singapore.

'Given the frequency of airplane accidents there, it also poses questions to investors on the potential for any form of investment into the low-cost carriers that are growing in that country.'

The accident occurred barely two months after a Boeing 737-400 owned by low-fare carrier Adam Air with 102 people on board crashed  off the island of Sulawesi  on New Year's Day,  leaving no survivors.

Last month, Indonesian authorities grounded all Boeing 737-300 aircraft operated by Adam Air after the fuselage of one of the planes cracked during a hard landing, although none of the 148 passengers and six crew was injured.

A former Adam Air pilot, Sutan Salahuddin,  in January accused the firm of forcing pilots to fly aircraft lacking safety clearance or with malfunctioning parts.

Mr Shukor said Indonesia needs to overhaul its aviation safety procedures, otherwise more such accidents will take place. 'It is not the age of the aircraft,' he said. 'It is the lack of personnel who are trained to look after those aircraft.'

Tom Ballantyne,  chief correspondent of industry magazine Orient Aviation,  said: 'I think there's certainly a need for higher safety standards in Indonesia.'

The challenge is magnified by the entry of smaller players as the Indonesian aviation industry is increasingly liberalised, but  these smaller players do not have the finances to ensure strict implementation of safety standards, he said.

There is also a lack of capable inspectors and safety operations experts within the government to ensure that no one is cutting corners, he said.

'You can't check an airplane once in every six months,' Ballantyne said. 'You need regular checks to look at maintenance procedures and make sure they are [on a par with] world standards.'



Culture of air safety in Indonesia  almost non-existent, analyst says