Report Blames Equipment and Safety Failures for Lion Air Crash

 

Indonesia’s National Safety Commission¹ says airplane equipment and carrier safety failures are to blame for the deadly Lion Air crash last month. The government report suggests the airplane should have been removed from service because of earlier reports about problems.

The passenger plane crashed into the Java Sea October 28, just a few minutes after leaving Jakarta. All 189 people on the plane were killed.

The plane had been traveling to nearby Banka-Belitung island.

The Commission’s chief said investigators³ are trying to understand why engineers had judged the plane to be airworthy.

“We need to compare the statements of the engineers with the required procedures,” he said.

Information from the recovered black box showed that the pilots struggled with a safety system that was broken. The system forced the front of the plane to turn down as the pilots fought to keep it up.

Also, the report says the pilots seemed unable to correct several other equipment failures that happened at the same time.

A crash investigator² said that pilots seemed unsure about which problem to deal with first.

The plane’s voice recorder is missing.

The report said pilots need to be informed of reports of equipment problems and be better trained for emergencies.

The plane that crashed is the newest type of Boeing’s popular 737 jetliner. One safety system pushes the nose of the plane down if it senses the nose is pointed⁴ too high and the plane is in danger.

Problems were noted⁵ with that system on reports of earlier flights of the plane that crashed.

Pilots who flew the plane the day before the crash told investigators that the system failed. They said they were able to shut it off and land safely.

The plane experienced technical problems in four earlier flights.

“We need to find out what happened and why the pilots took different actions. That why we really want to have the cockpit voice recorder,” the investigator said.

Boeing said in a statement after the crash that the new model is as safe as any airplane in the sky.

Boeing noted that the investigators’ report said pilots’ actions led to the crash. The statement also spoke⁶ of repair work and procedures that had failed to fix the airplane’s problems.

Peter Lemme is a former Boeing engineer who wrote a piece about the crash. He told the Associated Press that the plane’s nose went down and pilots pulled it back up 26 times during its 11 minutes in the air. Lemme said it appears that the pilots failed to understand the problem or the method for dealing⁷ with it.

Lemme said he was troubled that the pilots of the plane were not warned about the problems of earlier flights. He also expressed concern that the plane had not been repaired after those flights.

“Had they fixed⁸ the airplane, we would not have had the accident,” he said.

The report advised that Lion Air ensure it follows proper operating procedures to improve its “safety culture and to enable the pilot to make proper decisions.” It also advised the airline keep full documentation about technical problems on flights.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

procedure – n. a series of actions that are done in a certain way or order

proper – adj. right or suitable for some purpose or situation

cockpit - n. the area in a boat, airplane, etc., where the pilot or driver sits

1 commission   

n.委托，授权，委员会，拥金，回扣，委任状

参考例句：

• The salesman can get commission on everything he sells.这个售货员能得到所售每件货物的佣金。
• The commission is made up of five people,including two women.委员会由五人组成，其中包括两名妇女。

2 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

3 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

8 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。