David Learmount/LONDON
The Silk Air Boeing 737-300 crash on 19 December 1997 was caused either by mechanical failure or human factors, according to the official Indonesian report, which says there is insufficient evidence to reach a conclusion.
The aircraft hit the surface of the Musi river near Palembang, Sumatra, at very high speed in a near vertical dive, with the horizontal stabiliser trimmed nose down, says the report. All 104 people on board were killed.
Head of the investigation Professor Oetarjo Diran says: "Due to the highly fragmented wreckage and the nearly total lack of useful data, the investigation cannot explain how and why the accident happened." Some causes were ruled out including weather, maintenance, fire and terrorism.
Because the cockpit voice recorder (CVR), then the flight data recorder (FDR) stopped operating just after the captain left his seat, the Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee investigated a submission by the US National Transportation Safety Board that the crash might have been precipitated by the captain's intent to commit suicide. It would have been possible for him to trip the CVR and FDR circuit breakers. Diran counters: "While the USA has put forth a plausible hypothesis...there is insufficient evidence to prove this theory."
Source: Flight International
