Lion Air Flight 583

Lion Air Flight 583 (JT 583) was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Soekarno–Hatta International Airport, Jakarta to Juanda International Airport in Surabaya with a stopover at Adi Sumarmo Airport, Surakarta, Indonesia. On 30 November 2004, the McDonnell Douglas MD-82 overran the runway of Adi Sumarmo Airport and crashed onto a cemetery on landing. 25 people on board were killed in the crash, including the captain.[1] Investigation conducted by the Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee concluded that the crash was caused by hydroplaning, which was aggravated by wind shear.

Lion Air Flight 583

PK-LMN, the aircraft involved in the crash, taken at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in August 2004.
Accident
Date	30 November 2004 (2004-11-30)
Summary	Runway overrun due to pilot error and hydroplaning aggravated by a wind shear
Site	Adisumarmo International Airport Surakarta, Indonesia
Aircraft
Aircraft type	McDonnell Douglas MD-82
Operator	Lion Air
IATA flight No.	JT583
ICAO flight No.	LNI583
Call sign	LION INTER 583
Registration	PK-LMN
Flight origin	Soekarno-Hatta International Airport Jakarta, Indonesia
Stopover	Adisumarmo International Airport Surakarta, Indonesia
Destination	Juanda International Airport Surabaya, Indonesia
Occupants	163
Passengers	156
Crew	7
Fatalities	25
Injuries	109
Survivors	138

Aircraft

The aircraft, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82, with line number 1173 and manufacturer's serial number 49189 made its first flight on 13 November 1984, later delivered on 20 December 1984 and operated by Mexican carrier Aeroméxico as XA-AMP and named ”Aguascalientes” before being acquired by Lion Air in 2002 and registered as PK-LMN. Lion Air had sold the aircraft to another airline for delivery in January 2005.[2][3]

Accident

Flight 583 took off from Jakarta at around 17:00 local time (West Indonesian Time) carrying a total of 146 passengers and 7 crew members. Most of the passengers were members of the Nahdlatul Ulama, who were attending a national meeting held after the victorious result of the 2004 Indonesian Presidential Election. The flight was uneventful until its landing.[4]

The flight arrived at the airport during dusk, at around 18:00 local time in heavy rain. A thunderstorm was reportedly present during the landing.[4]

Flight 583 was configured appropriately for landing, touched down "smoothly" according to most passengers, and the thrust reversers were deployed. The aircraft, however, failed to slow adequately, overran the runway and slammed into an embankment. The impact caused the floor of the front portion of the plane to collapse, reportedly killing many of the passengers. The aircraft split into two sections, coming to rest in the end of the Runway and fuel began to leak. Passengers had difficulty locating emergency exits in the waning light. Some of the passengers self-evacuated through the opening in the fuselage.[5]

Immediate aftermath

The airport was closed and emergency services were notified. Injured passengers were transported by police vehicles and ambulances to numerous hospitals across Solo. At least 14 of the dead were transported to the Pabelan Hospital. 6 people, 2 dead and 4 injured, were transported to Panti Waluyo Hospital. Others were transported to Oen Kandangsapi, Brayat Minulya, Kasih Ibu, Oen Solo Baru and PKU Muhammadiyah, as well as facilities in Boyolali and Karanganyar. Survivors with minor injuries were treated inside the airport VIP terminal.[4]

25 people were killed and 59 others were seriously injured.[4][6]

Passengers and crew

Most of the passengers were Indonesians, while airport officials confirmed that one Singaporean woman was among the injured. The pilots at the control of the flight were Captain Dwi Mawastoro and First Officer Stephen Lesdek. Captain Dwi died in the crash while First Officer Lesdek survived with serious injuries.[7]

Investigation

The newly elected Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered an immediate investigation onto the cause of the crash of Flight 583 and stated that the investigation should be open to the public to prevent unwanted rumors in the aftermath of the crash. Minister of Transportation Hatta Rajasa stated that the Transportation Department would evaluate the Indonesian airline operations in response to the crash of Flight 583 in addition to two other similar incidents which occurred on the same day.[8]

The black box was subsequently found on 1 December 2004 and was transported to the Adi Sumarmo Emergency Operations Center.[9]

A witness to the crash claimed that lightning struck the plane during its landing phase. According to him, the landing light and the interior lighting were extinguished after the strike.[4]

Lion Air "claimed responsibility" for the crash and stated that they would pay the hospital bills of the survivors.[10] However, they denied that the crash was caused by the airline's misconduct and stated that weather was the main factor. According to them, Flight 583 experienced a tailwind during its landing, which explained why the plane didn't stop. Others claimed that the brakes or the thrust reversers malfunctioned.[11] The pilot did not put the throttle into flight idle, this cause the spoiler to retract, one of the reverse thrust also found to be faulty.

The preliminary report was published in 2005. Investigators stated that the plane's braking system was not at its optimum level. This condition was aggravated by weather conditions during the accident. Investigators also identified a faulty thrust reverser as one of the cause of the crash; they subsequently issued several recommendations to Lion Air.[12]

See also

• American Airlines Flight 1420
• Air India Express Flight 812
• Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 46
• TAM Airlines Flight 3054

References

1. Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82 (MD-82) PK-LMN Solo City-Adi Sumarmo Airport (SOC)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
2. "Lion Air PK-LMN". www.airfleets.net. Airfleets aviation. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
3. "PK-LMN Lion Air McDonnell Douglas MD-82". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
4. "Lion Air Nyungsep di Solo, 23 Tewas" [Lion Air Nyungsep in Solo, 23 Killed] (in Indonesian). Suara Merdeka. Archived from the original on 2017-06-23. Retrieved 2017-06-11.
5. "Lion Air Terpeleset di Solo, 10 Tewas" [Lion Air Slipped in Solo, 10 Killed.] (in Indonesian). Tempo.
6. "31 killed in Indonesian plane crash". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2004-12-01.
7. "Duka Menyelimuti Keluarga Dwi Mawastoro" [Grief ends for the family of Dwi Mawastoro] (in Indonesian). Liputan 6.
8. "Menhub Berjanji Mempercepat Investigasi Kecelakaan Lion Air" [Menhub Promises to Accelerate Lion Air Accident Investigation] (in Indonesian). Liputan 6.
9. "Kotak Hitam Pesawat Lion Air Ditemukan" [Lion Air Black Box Found] (in Indonesian). Liputan 6.
10. "Lion Air Menyatakan Bertanggung Jawab" [Lion Air Declares Responsibility] (in Indonesian). Liputan 6.
11. "Lion Air Membantah Menyalahi Prosedur Penerbangan" [Lion Air denies abusing Flight Procedures] (in Indonesian). Liputan 6.
12. "Kecelakaan Lion Air di Solo Terkuak" [Lion Air accident in Solo revealed] (in Indonesian). Liputan 6.

External links

• Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network
• Information (Archive)– National Transportation Safety Board