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The pilot of a Lion Air flight from the Indonesian island of Bali launched a radio alert a few minutes after takeoff due to technical problems, but these were exceeded and he continued on his way to Jakarta. The same plane crashed a few hours later during another flight, killing 189 people aboard.
Herson, head of the airport authority of Bali-Nusa Tenggara region, told Reuters that after the alert, the pilot had updated the control tower to tell him that the 39; plane was flying normally and that he would not return to the airport as requested.
"The captain himself was confident enough to fly from Denpasar to Jakarta," said Herson, who bears a name, speaking by phone from Bali and referring to the island resort's airport.
The pilot of another plane approaching Bali just after takeoff from the aircraft Lion Air was ordered to bypass the airport and listen to a radio conversation between the Lion Air pilot and air traffic controllers.
"Because of the Pan-Pan call, we were told not to turn too much around the airport," said the pilot, who declined to be named because he was not there. was not allowed to talk to the media.
"The plane Lion asked to return to Bali five minutes after takeoff, but the pilot then said that the problem was solved and that he was going to Jakarta."
Pilots use "Pan-Pan" calls to signal urgent situations. They are a little lower than "Mayday", which means extreme distress.
The flight Denpasar-Jakarta landed at the airport of the Indonesian capital at 22:55. local time on Sunday.
The same Boeing 737 MAX took off the next morning at 6:20 am towards Bangka Island, off Sumatra, and plunged into the sea 13 minutes later. Just before the accident, the pilot had asked to return to the base.
A Lion Air spokesman declined to comment when he was asked about the previous flight's alert, citing the ongoing investigation into the accident.
The CEO of the low-fare airline, Edward Sirait, had said earlier this week that a technical problem had occurred on the Denpasar-Jakarta flight, but that it had been resolved "in accordance with to the procedure ".
In the midst of media speculation about the airworthiness of the aircraft, the Minister of Transport on Wednesday suspended the technical director of Lion Air and three other officers to facilitate the investigation of the accident.
Suspended technicians "issued recommendations for this (final) flight," the ministry said in a press release. He did not specify how many technicians had been suspended.
The second deadliest air disaster in the country since 1997 has renewed concern over Indonesia's mixed track record of aviation safety. It will also highlight the Boeing 737 MAX, which went into commercial service last year and which, until Monday, posted a record-free accident. The MAX Slim Case is an update to the Boeing 737 Series, the world's most-produced commercial aircraft family and widely known for its safety performance.
