Crashed Lion jet had air speed indicator glitch

An Indonesian Lion Air jet that plunged into the Java Sea last week, killing all 189 on board, had an air speed indicator problem on its fatal flight and on three previous journeys, the country’s transportation watchdog said yesterday. The new details -- gleaned from a recovered flight data recorder -- come after the government said it was launching a “special audit” of the budget carrier’s operations.

A week after the disaster, there is still no answer as to what caused the crash. Lion -- long been dogged by safety problems -- has said the Boeing 737-Max 8 suffered a technical issue on the flight just prior to its deadly crash Monday and that it was fixed. But the National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC) said Monday that the black box data showed the plane had an air speed indicator issue on at least two other earlier flights.

“There were four flights in all that suffered a problem with the airspeed indicator,” NTSC head Soerjanto Tjahjono told reporters. “When there was a problem, the pilot would write it down and the mechanic would do (a repair)...Then the plane would be declared airworthy.” Scores of body bags filled with remains have been collected and sent for DNA testing, but so far just 14 people have been identified.

Search and rescue agency head Muhammad Syaugi tearfully apologised Monday as relatives’ clamour for answers grew louder, with accusations that the pace of recovery is lagging. “We are not perfect human beings,” he said, sobbing. “We have flaws, but we doing the best we can.”