SILKAIR’S COMMENT ON MI 185 INVESTIGATOR’S FINAL REPORT

SilkAir has received the final report issued by the official investigating body, Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC), regarding the crash of a SilkAir Boeing 737 aircraft on 19 December 1997.

In addition to the Indonesian authorities, the other accredited representatives on the NTSC were the United States’ National Transportation Safety Bureau (NTSB) and Singapore’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. Australia’s Bureau of Air Safety Investigation (BASI) was an advisor.

In its final report, the NTSC concludes that the technical investigation has yielded no evidence to explain the cause of the accident.

We have noted the comments submitted by the NTSB in an addendum to the NTSC report. While the official Indonesian investigators say they are unable to find the reasons why the aircraft dived, the NTSB claims the crash can be explained by intentional pilot action. Professor Diran, the Chief Investigator, does not think there is sufficient evidence to come to that conclusion.

SilkAir has also seen the report by the Singapore Police Force whose own investigation was prompted by the possibility that a crime had been perpetrated. The comprehensive investigation found no evidence that “any crewmember had suicidal tendencies or a motive to deliberately cause the crash”.

SilkAir has cooperated fully with the investigating authorities and accepts the findings of the NTSC and the Singapore Police Force. We wanted to know the cause as much as anybody else, but regrettably there are no definite answers. We are sorry that the crash ever happened and will continue to review our systems and practices to ensure the highest standards of operation.