Safety

Flight International online news 09:00GMT: Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC) is examining whether the Boeing 737-200 that crashed in Medan 5 September experienced a loss of power on takeoff.

It is also looking into whether the aircraft’s flaps were deployed correctly.



Domestic carrier Mandala Airlines was the operator of the 24-year-old 737-200, registered PK-RIM, which crashed at around 10:05 less than 1min after takeoff from the airport at Medan, the main city on Indonesia’s Sumatra island.

Eyewitness reports say the aircraft only got around 100ft (30m) off the ground before it hit an approach light at the end of a runway and crashed around 500m (1,600ft) from the airport into a residential district, killing nearly 50 people on the ground and 99 of the 117 people on board.

NTSC says investigators have found “a fan blade was…not in good condition” but have yet to determine whether this was the case before the crash or whether the blade was damaged on impact.

They have also found that “RPM [revolutions per minute] for engines one and two were not the same.

Investigators have also yet to determine if the flaps were deployed correctly but have found that “three screw jack actuators came loose from a flap and wing”.

LEITHEN FRANCIS/SINGAPORE