The SilkAir damages trial in Singapore has been adjourned for five weeks to allow both sides to prepare their final arguments for presentation to the judge who will issue a verdict, probably in September.
Singapore Airlines subsidiary SilkAir is being sued for damages by families of six victims of the Boeing 737-300 flight MI185, which plunged into an Indonesian swamp in December 1997, who claim the pilot deliberately caused the crash, killing all 104 passengers and crew.
Prosecution lawyers have argued, with the help of expert witnesses, that only deliberate action by the pilots could have caused the aircraft to crash in the way it did. The US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concluded the aircraft had probably been crashed deliberately, disagreeing with the Indonesian crash investigation that failed to identify a cause.
The NTSB, in its crash report, said Captain Tsu Way Ming's large debts and insurance policy were strong evidence of someone likely to commit suicide.
SilkAir pilots who had flown with Tsu also testified there were concerns about a number of reckless actions he had committed raising questions over his suitability to fly.
Large debts and fresh life insurance policies prompted suspicion Tsu crashed the aircraft to mask his suicide. Singapore police concluded neither pilot had reason for suicide.
Prosecution evidence was strong enough for American Thomas Oey, whose mother and brother died in the crash, to testify he instructed his US lawyers to withdraw suits against Boeing and component manufacturers in the USA on 14 July, as he is now convinced one of the pilots caused the crash.
Defence lawyers responded, backed by expert witnesses, that mechanical or progressive electrical failure or a decompression-related emergency may have caused the aircraft to crash. They also brought SilkAir supervisors to testify that Tsu presented no safety danger.
They scorned the NTSB's finding, saying the board had drawn the wrong conclusion in three previous investigations.
After receiving the final arguments from both sides the judge will consider his verdict at leisure. An outcome is set for September. Singapore does not use juries.
Source: Flight International
