Lessons from Indonesia

The terrible tragedy that struck an Indonesian airliner, that also claimed the life of an experienced Indian pilot with impeccable flying credentials, comes amid key safety issues in that country. The weather was clear and the aircraft less than three months old with 800 hours of flying, but sank without a trace in the sea within minutes of taking off. The investigations will probably focus on the aircraft as its previous flight had seen a horrific, up-and-down performance, maybe due to engine issues. The ill-fated flight’s data also appears to show it was performing erratically after takeoff and the pilots wanted to turn back. Efforts are on to trace the plane and recover its black box, with transponder pings raising hopes.

What the Indonesian crash stresses most is that even in today’s environment of crowded, competitive aviation, safety must never be compromised. Relatively new to the “open skies” policy, Indonesia has 60 airlines competing for passengers at steep discounts and suffered around 45 crashes since 2000, besides many scares. Its aviation procedures and standards were considered so lax that the EU and the United States had barred the entry of Indonesian aircraft till very recently. Deregulation sounds good in the days of truly free markets, but it shouldn’t come at the cost of quality infrastructure and global safety norms in regulating and operating flights. India is said to have sought a check of its Boeing 737MAX-8 jets, but they seem to have been cleared too quickly for total reassurance. The point is that passenger safety should get the highest priority and should not be lost sight of just for the commerce of flying millions of people.