World

Indonesian investigators say doomed Lion Air jet 'airworthy'

29 of November 2018

National Transportation Safety Committee investigator Nurcahyo Utomo holds a model of an airplane during a press conference on the committee's preliminary findings on their investigation on the crash of Lion Air flight 610, in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018. Black box data collected from their crashed Boeing 737 MAX 8 show Lion Air pilots struggled to maintain control as the aircraft's automatic safety system repeatedly pushed the plane's nose down, according to a preliminary investigation into last month's disaster. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim),National Transportation Safety Committee investigator Nurcahyo Utomo holds a model of an airplane during a press conference on the committee's preliminary findings on their investigation on the crash of Lion Air flight 610, in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018. Black box data collected from their crashed Boeing 737 MAX 8 show Lion Air pilots struggled to maintain control as the aircraft's automatic safety system repeatedly pushed the plane's nose down, according to a preliminary investigation into last month's disaster. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Investigators of the Oct. 28 crash of a Lion Air flight into the Java Sea say the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft was deemed airworthy when it made its final takeoff from Jakarta.

The officials summoned reporters Thursday to clarify comments made at a news conference the day before, where some media reported they had said the plane was not airworthy when it took off.

The National Transportation Safety Commission investigators were reporting on data from the aircraft’s black boxes. They say the cockpit voice recorder, which is still missing and being searched for, is needed to understand what exactly caused the jet to plunge in the Java Sea just 11 minutes after takeoff.

“The NTSC and the Head of Aviation Communication never stated that Lion Air, Boeing 737-8 MAX aircraft registered PK-LQP, was not airworthy,” said investigator Nurcahyo Utomo.

He said that based on maintenance records, flight engineers had made repairs and run tests.

“Based on the test results, the aircraft was declared airworthy, also when the plane departed from Jakarta, the aircraft was in airworthy condition,” Utomo said.