Pilot made distress call on doomed Indonesian jet’s previous flight
Jakarta — The pilot of a Lion Air flight from Indonesia’s Bali island made a distress call on Sunday minutes after take-off due to technical problems, but they were overcome and he pushed on to Jakarta. The same jet crashed on another flight hours later, killing all 189 people on board. Herson, chief of the airport authority for the Bali-Nusa Tenggara area, said that after the call, the pilot updated the control tower to say that the aircraft was flying normally and he would not return to the airport as requested. “The captain himself was confident enough to fly to Jakarta from Denpasar,” said Herson, who goes by one name, referring to the resort island’s airport. The pilot of another aircraft that was approaching Bali just after the Lion Air jet had taken off said he was ordered to circle above the airport and listened in to a radio conversation between the Lion Air pilot and air traffic controllers. “Because of the Pan-Pan call, we were told to hold off, circling the airport in th...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.