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Indonesian crash pilot sentenced | Indonesian crash pilot sentenced |
(20 minutes later) | |
The pilot of an Indonesian plane that crashed at an airport on Java island, killing 21 people, has been jailed for two years for criminal negligence. | |
An inquiry found that Capt Marwoto Komar had approached the runway too fast and landed at too steep an angle. | An inquiry found that Capt Marwoto Komar had approached the runway too fast and landed at too steep an angle. |
The Boeing 737 skidded off the runway and burst into flames on 7 March 2007. | The Boeing 737 skidded off the runway and burst into flames on 7 March 2007. |
Five Australians were among the dead - many were diplomats, journalists and officials accompanying Australia's then-foreign minister Alexander Downer. | |
The minister was travelling to Yogyakarta on a separate plane. | |
'No remorse' | |
"The defendant, Marwoto Komar, is legally and convincingly guilty of criminal negligence resulting in the jet's crash and the deaths of other people," chief judge Sri Andini ruled. | |
Capt Marwoto Komar approached the runway at almost double normal speed | |
He said the heavy sentence was handed down because of the number of fatalities and the fact that the pilot "never expressed remorse during the trial". | |
Marwoto Komar said he planned to appeal against the ruling. He had maintained that faulty wing flaps were to blame for the plane's excessive speed. | |
However, a report by an Indonesian safety committee found that Komar ignored 15 automatic warnings from inside the cockpit, and also pleas from his co-pilot to abort the landing and take the approach again. | |
Indonesia relies on air travel to connect its many islands, but old planes and inadequate investment mean the country has one of the worst aviation safety records in the world. | |
The European Union has banned Indonesian airlines from its airspace since 2007 because of safety concerns. |