Lion Air jet 'dragged' from sky, says pilot

The pilot whose Indonesian jet slumped into the sea while trying to land in Bali has described how he felt it "dragged" down by wind while he struggled to regain control, a person familiar with the matter said.

All 108 passengers and crew miraculously survived when the Boeing 737 passenger jet, operated by Indonesian budget carrier Lion Air, undershot the tourist island's main airport runway and belly-flopped in water on Saturday.

Officials stressed it was too early to say what caused the incident, which is being investigated by Indonesian authorities with the assistance of US crash investigators and Boeing.

But initial debriefings, witness comments and weather bulletins have focused attention on the possibility of "wind shear" or a downdraft from storm clouds known as a "microburst".

Although rare, experts said such violent and localized gusts can leave even the most modern jet helpless if they are stronger than the plane's ability to fly out of trouble.

However, investigators will also need to resolve conflicting reports about Bali's weather at the time of the crash.

"If you have a downdraft which exceeds the performance of the plane, then even if you put on full thrust you will go downhill and you can't climb out," said Hugh Dibley, a former British Airways captain and expert on loss-of-control events.

The cause of the crash has potential implications for the reputation of one of the world's fastest-growing airlines, which is fighting to be removed from a European Union safety blacklist even as it buys record volumes of Airbus and Boeing jets.

According to initial pilot debriefings, details of which have been described to Reuters, flight JT-904 was on an eastward approach to Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport at mid-afternoon on Saturday following a normal flight from Bandung, West Java.

The co-pilot, an Indian national with 2,000 hours of relevant flying experience, was in charge for the domestic trip, which was scheduled to last one hour and 40 minutes.

Reuters-AFP

(China Daily 04/16/2013 page10)