Adam Air
Encyclopedia
Adam Air was a privately owned airline
based in West Jakarta
, Jakarta
, Indonesia
. It operated scheduled domestic services to over 20 cities and international services to Penang
and Singapore
. Its main base was Soekarno-Hatta International Airport
, Jakarta.
Although sometimes referred to as a low-cost carrier
, it marketed itself as an airline straddled between low-cost and traditional carriers, offering both on-board meal service and low fares, similar to the model adopted by Singapore-based Valuair
. Prior to the crash of flight 574
, it was the fastest growing low-cost carrier in Indonesia.
, a well-known Indonesian businessman and the speaker of Indonesia's House of Representatives, and Sandra Ang.
The airline was established in 2004 and began operations on 19 December 2003 with 2 Boeing 737
aircraft leased from GE Commercial Aviation Services
. It is named after Adam Adhitya Suherman, son of Sandra Ang.
Adam Air had been involved in talks with multiple private investors, including discussions about the sale of a 20% stake to Qantas
, a takeover bid from private equity fund Texas Pacific Group
, and a planned initial public offering in Singapore
. However, foreign investment interest evaporated with the crash of Flight 574.
Indonesian investment firm PT Bhakti Investama expressed an interest in acquiring Adam Air. The company already owned a stake in Indonesia Air Transport
, and president Hary Djaja says that "Given our experience with IAT, which has an excellent safety record, we're certain that we will be able to create positive synergies and improve the way Adam Air is run,". Adam Air ultimately sold a fifty percent stake of itself to PT Bhakti Investama.
Gerry Soejatman, an aviation consultant, stated that Adam Air provided a "fresh image" and therefore was successful. Soejatman mentioned the "bright colors" associated with the airline, the aircraft being painted in "fantastic orange," and the crew members wearing "flashy uniforms." Soejatman described Adam Air as having "everything right going for them."
Following the crash of Adam Air Flight 292 in Batam
, PT Bhakti Investama and a business consortium, Bright Star Perkasa which together own 50 percent shares in Adam Air planned to bail out on their investments and sell their shares back to the carrier's founders, Suherman and Sandra Ang. Henry Suparman, investor relations official at Bhakti Investama did not cite any specific safety incident at Adam Air but said that after nearly one year of investing in Adam Air, Bhakti had not seen any significant progress in the airline's handling of safety issues.
Their fleet (according to airfleets.net) consisted entirely of Boeing 737
's with 4 Boeing 737-200's, 3 737-300's (one written off), and 7 737-400's (one written off). One 735, 5 734s, 3 733s, and 2 732s were sold prior to the airline's grounding/shutdown.
to Makassar
, Sulawesi
. The plane was subsequently flown into a radar "black spot" and was lost for several hours, eventually making an emergency landing at Tambolaka Airport
, Sumba
(on a different island 481 km away from their intended destination, and southeast from their origin, instead of northeast). The pilot in that incident was fired. Adam Air broke multiple safety regulations, including removing an aircraft before it was due for inspection by aviation authorities.
en route from Surabaya
(SUB
) to Manado
(MDC
). The aircraft, a Boeing 737-400
with the registration PK-KKW, had 96 passengers and 6 crew. On January 10, parts of the aircraft's tail stabilizer were found 300m offshore.
The flight recorders and suspected debris were located, but were not initially recovered due to a dispute between Adam Air and the Indonesian Government over who should pay recovery costs. Both recorders were retrieved after Adam Air agreed to pay for 7 days worth of searching. A 2009 episode of Mayday
(Air Crash Investigation, Air Emergency) about Flight 574 stated that the official crash report had concluded the Inertial Reference System
(IRS) had failed. This failure, which should not by itself have brought the plane down, caused the pilots to become preoccupied with trying to fix it. After changing the IRS from "Navigate" mode to "Attitude" mode, the pilots failed to manually fly the plane while the computer system recalibrated, a procedure that takes about 30 seconds. The failure to maintain straight and level flight during the recalibration caused the autopilot to completely disengage and cease compensating for the plane's tendency to roll to the right, which caused the nose of the plane to dip. In attempting to correct the pitch of the aircraft before levelling the wings, the pilot sent the aircraft into an unrecoverable downward spiral, leading to the plane suffering massive structural failure as it descended at near the speed of sound.
, an Adam Air Boeing 737-300
aircraft flying from Jakarta
to Surabaya
with registration PK-KKV, had a hard landing at Juanda International Airport
. The incident caused the fuselage of the plane to crack and bend at the middle, with the tail of the plane drooping towards the ground. There were no reports of serious injuries from the incident. Subsequent flights to the airport were diverted to alternate airports. As a result, six Adam Air 737s were grounded awaiting safety checks, but five of these were then put back in regular service. Adam Air described this as "harsh punishment" for an accident it blamed on poor weather conditions, but Vice President Jusuf Kalla
has said that all Boeing 737-300s should be checked.
aircraft flying from Jakarta
to Batam
skidded 75 metres off the end of the runway while landing in Batam. All passengers survived, with two passengers treated for shock. The plane sustained damage to one wing. This accident contributed to the airline's demise, just eight days later, and the formal revocation of its AOC two months later.
and corruption
.
quotes one pilot as saying that "Every time you flew, you had to fight with the ground staff and the management about all the regulations you had to violate". They also claim that if pilots confronted their seniors in the airline, they were grounded or docked pay.
Adam Adhitya Suherman, founder of the family-run airline, has personally denied these accusations, and has said that maintenance costs "up 40 percent of our total operational costs".
says it has spoken to "some well-placed local sources requesting anonymity", who claim that Agung Laksono didn't invest any of his own money into the airline, instead using money available to him through his official government position. This gave him the unfair advantage of receiving heavily regulated licenses and airport landing rights. The same people say that the Ang family had no previous experience in the aviation industry. Adam Air's original advertising campaign contained statements considered by many to be direct lies, telling passengers to take to the skies with its "new Boeing 737-400s", despite the fact that its two Boeings, leased from GE Capital Aviation Services, were used and over 15 years old. At the time Adam Air was founded, the 737 aircraft families making up Adam Air's fleet had been out-of-production for several years, replaced by the 737 Next-Generation series.
After an incident in which an aircraft with 145 people on board was lost for hours, eventually making an emergency landing in West Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara
, some 525 kilometers away from its intended destination, the pilots blamed a malfunctioning navigation system. Adam Air claimed the equipment to be in good working order, and had the pilots arrested on charges of endangering passenger safety. Immediately after the incident, the Directorate General of Air Communications (DGAC) sent instructions to Adam Air to repair the faulty system. Adam Air was then required to conduct a total of 13 test flights with DGAC inspectors aboard before the aircraft could be returned to commercial service. Adam Air instead left behind a team from the National Transportation Safety Committee
(KNKT), who they were supposed to transport to the site, and sent only their own engineers. According to Adam Air, they repaired the fault, and the aircraft was immediately returned to service without any inspection. Iksan Tatang, director general of air transportation, said the incident was "a serious violation", and promised a full investigation. However, no sign of the investigation's findings exists on the public record, and it is unclear whether the investigation took place at all. Critics say Adam Air used its political connections to sidestep aviation authorities.
When asked by Tempo magazine what caused the January Adam Air accident, chief executive officer Suherman said: "It was a weather problem. Everything was okay when the plane took off, except for the X factor. We are not God
." However, the Asia Times
says that due to corruption the real cause may never be known.
In May 2005 17 Adam Air pilots decided to resign due to poor navigation
al systems with which they were forced to fly. The airline sued all of them since their contract length had not been fulfilled. A Liputan 6
article stated that Adam Air is not attempting to claim for damage caused by the pilots' public accusations of poor safety standards.
On January 10, 2007 there was a report that Indonesian consumer and labour groups were planning to lodge a $US100 million suit, claiming the airline neglected safety in order to save money.
On February 21, 2007 it was reported that thirteen Adam Air employees, as well as an employee of airport operator PT Angkasa Pura, working at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport
had been arrested for fraudulent data manipulation. The scheme involved manipulating passenger data to show passengers as 'leaving the country'. This meant that they were automatically charged a duty of 30,000 Rupiah each, when in reality they owed none. The money was then split between fourteen staff members. A computer from the check-in desk, as well as passenger tickets and lists, were seized.
, Transwisata Prima Aviation
, Tri-MG Intra Asia Airlines
, Manunggal Air Services, Jatayu Airlines
and Kartika Airlines
. All fifty-four of Indonesia's airlines were told to make some improvements.
It was reported on June 28, 2007 that Adam Air would escape shutdown and had upgraded its safety rating to the middle tier. The airlines that lost their licenses were Jatayu Gelang Sejahtera, Aviasi Upataraksa, Alfa Trans Dirgantara and Prodexim and airlines that were grounded pending improvements and facing potential licence revocation were Germania Trisila Air, Atlas Delta Setia, Survey Udara Penas, Kura-kura Aviation and SMAC.
As reported on the local news, Adam Air reduced many of its flights. Adam Air decreased its frequencies to only several flights departing both from Jakarta Airport and Surabaya Airport.
On 16 March 2008, Adam Air was given 21 days by the Indonesian government to decide whether to close down after safety concerns prompted an investment group to unload its 50 percent stake in the airline. The following day, the president of Adam Air announced that more than half of the fleet had been seized after the airline defaulted on payments.
"Out of 22 planes, now we only have 10 because 12 of them have been declared in default. The other 10 have been declared in default as well, but I'm still trying to work out a way to restructure the payments," Adam Suherman was quoted as saying.
On 18 March 2008, after the accident at Batam
[in which a Boeing 737 skidded off the runway while landing], the Indonesian government suspended the airline's Air Operator Certificate. The airline was not allowed to fly and had three months to show safety improvements.
On 18 June 2008 the Indonesian authorities definitively pulled Adam Air's AOC, banning it from flying permanently.
However, the company had been in financial trouble even before the government's decision to shut it down, mostly due to mismanagement. The company's owner (Sandra Ang) had been allegedly embezzling the company's money. The financial losses from the embezzlement reportedly amounted to Rp 2.1 trillion (approximately US$ 210 million). On August 12, 2008, the Indonesian police named Sandra Ang as a suspect for money embezzlement. She was also barred from leaving the country by immigration.
Airline
An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...
based in West Jakarta
West Jakarta
West Jakarta is a city within Jakarta Special District, Indonesia. It had a p[opulation of 2,278,825 at the 2010 Census; the administrative centre is at Puri Kembangan....
, Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. It operated scheduled domestic services to over 20 cities and international services to Penang
Penang
Penang is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south. Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the...
and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. Its main base was Soekarno-Hatta International Airport
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport
Soekarno–Hatta International Airport , popularly abbreviated SHIA or Soetta is the main airport serving the greater Jakarta area on the island of Java, Indonesia. The airport is named after the first President of Indonesia, Soekarno, and the first vice-president, Mohammad Hatta. The airport is...
, Jakarta.
Although sometimes referred to as a low-cost carrier
Low-cost carrier
A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline is an airline that generally has lower fares and fewer comforts...
, it marketed itself as an airline straddled between low-cost and traditional carriers, offering both on-board meal service and low fares, similar to the model adopted by Singapore-based Valuair
Valuair
Valuair Limited is a Singapore-based low-cost carrier. It was launched in 2004, offering initial services to Bangkok and Hong Kong. It differentiates itself from other low-cost carriers in that it offers frills such as a baggage allowance of over 20 kg, in-flight food, allocated seats, and...
. Prior to the crash of flight 574
Adam Air Flight 574
Adam Air Flight 574 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight operated by Adam Air between the Indonesian cities of Surabaya and Manado that disappeared near Polewali in Sulawesi on 1 January 2007. The plane, a Boeing 737-4Q8, was ultimately determined to have crashed into the ocean, from...
, it was the fastest growing low-cost carrier in Indonesia.
History
Adam Air was founded in 2002 by Agung LaksonoAgung Laksono
Agung Laksono is the coordinating minister for people's welfare in the Second United Indonesia Cabinet and a member of the Golkar Party. Previously, he was the Speaker of Indonesia People's Representative Council from 2004 to 2009...
, a well-known Indonesian businessman and the speaker of Indonesia's House of Representatives, and Sandra Ang.
The airline was established in 2004 and began operations on 19 December 2003 with 2 Boeing 737
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
aircraft leased from GE Commercial Aviation Services
GE Commercial Aviation Services
GECAS is a unit of GE Capital, itself part of the large conglomerate General Electric. The president of GECAS is Norman Liu. GECAS is responsible for the leasing of aircraft and associated equipment to airlines...
. It is named after Adam Adhitya Suherman, son of Sandra Ang.
Qantas
Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney, with its main hub at Sydney Airport...
, a takeover bid from private equity fund Texas Pacific Group
Texas Pacific Group
TPG Capital is one of the largest private equity investment firms globally, focused on leveraged buyout, growth capital and leveraged recapitalization investments in distressed companies and turnaround situations. TPG also manages investment funds specializing in growth capital, venture capital,...
, and a planned initial public offering in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. However, foreign investment interest evaporated with the crash of Flight 574.
Indonesian investment firm PT Bhakti Investama expressed an interest in acquiring Adam Air. The company already owned a stake in Indonesia Air Transport
Indonesia Air Transport
Indonesia Air Transport is an airline and aviation company based in Jakarta, Indonesia. It provides a wide range of aviation services to both the on and offshore oil, gas and mining industries within Indonesia and South-east Asia. Its main base is Halim Perdanakusuma International Airport, Jakarta...
, and president Hary Djaja says that "Given our experience with IAT, which has an excellent safety record, we're certain that we will be able to create positive synergies and improve the way Adam Air is run,". Adam Air ultimately sold a fifty percent stake of itself to PT Bhakti Investama.
Gerry Soejatman, an aviation consultant, stated that Adam Air provided a "fresh image" and therefore was successful. Soejatman mentioned the "bright colors" associated with the airline, the aircraft being painted in "fantastic orange," and the crew members wearing "flashy uniforms." Soejatman described Adam Air as having "everything right going for them."
Following the crash of Adam Air Flight 292 in Batam
Batam
Batam is an island and city in Riau Islands Province of Indonesia, known for its free trade zone area as part of the Sijori Growth Triangle, is located off Singapore's south coast...
, PT Bhakti Investama and a business consortium, Bright Star Perkasa which together own 50 percent shares in Adam Air planned to bail out on their investments and sell their shares back to the carrier's founders, Suherman and Sandra Ang. Henry Suparman, investor relations official at Bhakti Investama did not cite any specific safety incident at Adam Air but said that after nearly one year of investing in Adam Air, Bhakti had not seen any significant progress in the airline's handling of safety issues.
Their fleet (according to airfleets.net) consisted entirely of Boeing 737
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
's with 4 Boeing 737-200's, 3 737-300's (one written off), and 7 737-400's (one written off). One 735, 5 734s, 3 733s, and 2 732s were sold prior to the airline's grounding/shutdown.
Incidents and accidents
In 2006, at least one plane skidded off a runway, and two others operated with serious gear malfunctions. In addition, Adam Air has had four serious events outlined below.Flight 782
On February 11, 2006, Flight 782, registration number PK-KKE, lost navigational and communications systems twenty minutes into a flight from JakartaJakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
to Makassar
Makassar
Makassar, is the provincial capital of South Sulawesi, Indonesia, and the largest city on Sulawesi Island. From 1971 to 1999, the city was named Ujung Pandang, after a precolonial fort in the city, and the two names are often used interchangeably...
, Sulawesi
Sulawesi
Sulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...
. The plane was subsequently flown into a radar "black spot" and was lost for several hours, eventually making an emergency landing at Tambolaka Airport
Tambolaka Airport
Tambolaka Airport is an airport in Tambolaka, West Sumba Regency, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia .-Airlines and destinations:-Accidents and incidents:...
, Sumba
Sumba
Sumba is an island in eastern Indonesia, is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, and is in the province of East Nusa Tenggara. Sumba has an area of 11,153 km², and the population was officially at 611,422 in 2005...
(on a different island 481 km away from their intended destination, and southeast from their origin, instead of northeast). The pilot in that incident was fired. Adam Air broke multiple safety regulations, including removing an aircraft before it was due for inspection by aviation authorities.
Flight 574
On January 1, 2007, air traffic controllers lost contact with flight 574Adam Air Flight 574
Adam Air Flight 574 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight operated by Adam Air between the Indonesian cities of Surabaya and Manado that disappeared near Polewali in Sulawesi on 1 January 2007. The plane, a Boeing 737-4Q8, was ultimately determined to have crashed into the ocean, from...
en route from Surabaya
Surabaya
Surabaya is Indonesia's second-largest city with a population of over 2.7 million , and the capital of the province of East Java...
(SUB
Juanda International Airport
Juanda International Airport , is an airport located in Sidoarjo, a small town near Surabaya, East Java. This airport serves Surabaya and surrounding areas. Juanda International Airport is operated by PT Angkasa Pura I. The airport takes its name after Djuanda Kartawidjaja, the last Prime Minister...
) to Manado
Manado
Manado is the capital of the North Sulawesi province of Indonesia. Manado is located at the Bay of Manado, and is surrounded by a mountainous area. The city has about 405,715 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in Sulawesi after Makassar...
(MDC
Sam Ratulangi Airport
Sam Ratulangi International Airport , also known as Manado International Airport, is located in North Sulawesi, 13 km northeast of Manado. The airport is named after the Minahasan educator and independence hero Sam Ratulangi...
). The aircraft, a Boeing 737-400
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
with the registration PK-KKW, had 96 passengers and 6 crew. On January 10, parts of the aircraft's tail stabilizer were found 300m offshore.
The flight recorders and suspected debris were located, but were not initially recovered due to a dispute between Adam Air and the Indonesian Government over who should pay recovery costs. Both recorders were retrieved after Adam Air agreed to pay for 7 days worth of searching. A 2009 episode of Mayday
Mayday (TV series)
Mayday, also known as Air Crash Investigation in the United Kingdom, Australia and Asia and Air Emergency and Air Disasters in the United States, is a Canadian documentary television programme produced by Cineflix investigating air crashes, near-crashes and other disasters...
(Air Crash Investigation, Air Emergency) about Flight 574 stated that the official crash report had concluded the Inertial Reference System
Inertial navigation system
An inertial navigation system is a navigation aid that uses a computer, motion sensors and rotation sensors to continuously calculate via dead reckoning the position, orientation, and velocity of a moving object without the need for external references...
(IRS) had failed. This failure, which should not by itself have brought the plane down, caused the pilots to become preoccupied with trying to fix it. After changing the IRS from "Navigate" mode to "Attitude" mode, the pilots failed to manually fly the plane while the computer system recalibrated, a procedure that takes about 30 seconds. The failure to maintain straight and level flight during the recalibration caused the autopilot to completely disengage and cease compensating for the plane's tendency to roll to the right, which caused the nose of the plane to dip. In attempting to correct the pitch of the aircraft before levelling the wings, the pilot sent the aircraft into an unrecoverable downward spiral, leading to the plane suffering massive structural failure as it descended at near the speed of sound.
Flight 172
On February 21, 2007 Flight 172Adam Air Flight 172
Adam Air Flight 172 was a serious incident involving a Boeing 737-300, registered PK-KKV, flying on a scheduled domestic passenger flight in Indonesia between Jakarta and Surabaya. Officials stated the aircraft passed safety checks prior to its departure. On 21 February 2007, the plane bent on...
, an Adam Air Boeing 737-300
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
aircraft flying from Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
to Surabaya
Surabaya
Surabaya is Indonesia's second-largest city with a population of over 2.7 million , and the capital of the province of East Java...
with registration PK-KKV, had a hard landing at Juanda International Airport
Juanda International Airport
Juanda International Airport , is an airport located in Sidoarjo, a small town near Surabaya, East Java. This airport serves Surabaya and surrounding areas. Juanda International Airport is operated by PT Angkasa Pura I. The airport takes its name after Djuanda Kartawidjaja, the last Prime Minister...
. The incident caused the fuselage of the plane to crack and bend at the middle, with the tail of the plane drooping towards the ground. There were no reports of serious injuries from the incident. Subsequent flights to the airport were diverted to alternate airports. As a result, six Adam Air 737s were grounded awaiting safety checks, but five of these were then put back in regular service. Adam Air described this as "harsh punishment" for an accident it blamed on poor weather conditions, but Vice President Jusuf Kalla
Vice President of Indonesia
The Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia is the first in the line of succession in the Republic of Indonesia.-History of the office:The Indonesian Vice Presidency was established during the formulation of the 1945 constitution by the Researching Body for the Preparation of the Indonesian...
has said that all Boeing 737-300s should be checked.
Flight 292
On March 10, 2008, an Adam Air Boeing 737-400Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
aircraft flying from Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
to Batam
Batam
Batam is an island and city in Riau Islands Province of Indonesia, known for its free trade zone area as part of the Sijori Growth Triangle, is located off Singapore's south coast...
skidded 75 metres off the end of the runway while landing in Batam. All passengers survived, with two passengers treated for shock. The plane sustained damage to one wing. This accident contributed to the airline's demise, just eight days later, and the formal revocation of its AOC two months later.
Controversy
After the crash of Flight 574, there was much controversy surrounding Adam Air. This controversy revolved around two separate but related issues: safetySafety
Safety is the state of being "safe" , the condition of being protected against physical, social, spiritual, financial, political, emotional, occupational, psychological, educational or other types or consequences of failure, damage, error, accidents, harm or any other event which could be...
and corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
.
Safety
The safety record of Adam Air has been heavily criticized. Adam Air has reportedly bribed pilots to fly planes they knew were unsafe. Pilots have reported repeated and deliberate breaches of international safety regulations, and aircraft being flown in non-airworthy states for months at a time. They claim that there have been such incidents as requests to sign documents to allow an aircraft to fly, while not having the authority to, and while knowing the plane to be unairworthy, flying a plane for several months with a damaged door handle, swapping parts between aircraft to avoid mandatory replacement deadlines, being ordered to fly aircraft after exceeding the take-off limit of five times per pilot per day, flying an aircraft with a damaged window, using spare parts from other aircraft to keep planes in the air and ignoring pilot's requests not to take off due to unsafe aircraft. The Associated PressAssociated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
quotes one pilot as saying that "Every time you flew, you had to fight with the ground staff and the management about all the regulations you had to violate". They also claim that if pilots confronted their seniors in the airline, they were grounded or docked pay.
Adam Adhitya Suherman, founder of the family-run airline, has personally denied these accusations, and has said that maintenance costs "up 40 percent of our total operational costs".
Corruption
The Asia TimesAsia Times
Asia Times was a newspaper launched in Thailand by Thai tycoon Sondhi Limthongkul in 1995. The newspaper hired talent from around the world to produce a regional English-language newspaper....
says it has spoken to "some well-placed local sources requesting anonymity", who claim that Agung Laksono didn't invest any of his own money into the airline, instead using money available to him through his official government position. This gave him the unfair advantage of receiving heavily regulated licenses and airport landing rights. The same people say that the Ang family had no previous experience in the aviation industry. Adam Air's original advertising campaign contained statements considered by many to be direct lies, telling passengers to take to the skies with its "new Boeing 737-400s", despite the fact that its two Boeings, leased from GE Capital Aviation Services, were used and over 15 years old. At the time Adam Air was founded, the 737 aircraft families making up Adam Air's fleet had been out-of-production for several years, replaced by the 737 Next-Generation series.
After an incident in which an aircraft with 145 people on board was lost for hours, eventually making an emergency landing in West Sumba, East Nusa Tenggara
East Nusa Tenggara
East Nusa Tenggara is a province of Indonesia, located in the eastern portion of the Lesser Sunda Islands, including West Timor. The provincial capital is Kupang, located on West Timor...
, some 525 kilometers away from its intended destination, the pilots blamed a malfunctioning navigation system. Adam Air claimed the equipment to be in good working order, and had the pilots arrested on charges of endangering passenger safety. Immediately after the incident, the Directorate General of Air Communications (DGAC) sent instructions to Adam Air to repair the faulty system. Adam Air was then required to conduct a total of 13 test flights with DGAC inspectors aboard before the aircraft could be returned to commercial service. Adam Air instead left behind a team from the National Transportation Safety Committee
National Transportation Safety Committee
The National Transportation Safety Committee is an Indonesian government agency charged with the investigation of air, land, rail, and marine transportation safety deficiencies. It has its headquarters in Jakarta....
(KNKT), who they were supposed to transport to the site, and sent only their own engineers. According to Adam Air, they repaired the fault, and the aircraft was immediately returned to service without any inspection. Iksan Tatang, director general of air transportation, said the incident was "a serious violation", and promised a full investigation. However, no sign of the investigation's findings exists on the public record, and it is unclear whether the investigation took place at all. Critics say Adam Air used its political connections to sidestep aviation authorities.
When asked by Tempo magazine what caused the January Adam Air accident, chief executive officer Suherman said: "It was a weather problem. Everything was okay when the plane took off, except for the X factor. We are not God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
." However, the Asia Times
Asia Times
Asia Times was a newspaper launched in Thailand by Thai tycoon Sondhi Limthongkul in 1995. The newspaper hired talent from around the world to produce a regional English-language newspaper....
says that due to corruption the real cause may never be known.
Other legal issues
Large numbers of pilots joined the airline when it was founded in 2002, but at least 20 quit within months over safety concerns.In May 2005 17 Adam Air pilots decided to resign due to poor navigation
Navigation
Navigation is the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks...
al systems with which they were forced to fly. The airline sued all of them since their contract length had not been fulfilled. A Liputan 6
Liputan 6
Liputan 6 is a television news program that broadcasts on the Indonesian TV station SCTV. Its slogan is "Aktual, Tajam, Terpercaya" . It was first broadcast in May 1996.-Programs:...
article stated that Adam Air is not attempting to claim for damage caused by the pilots' public accusations of poor safety standards.
On January 10, 2007 there was a report that Indonesian consumer and labour groups were planning to lodge a $US100 million suit, claiming the airline neglected safety in order to save money.
On February 21, 2007 it was reported that thirteen Adam Air employees, as well as an employee of airport operator PT Angkasa Pura, working at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport
Soekarno-Hatta International Airport
Soekarno–Hatta International Airport , popularly abbreviated SHIA or Soetta is the main airport serving the greater Jakarta area on the island of Java, Indonesia. The airport is named after the first President of Indonesia, Soekarno, and the first vice-president, Mohammad Hatta. The airport is...
had been arrested for fraudulent data manipulation. The scheme involved manipulating passenger data to show passengers as 'leaving the country'. This meant that they were automatically charged a duty of 30,000 Rupiah each, when in reality they owed none. The money was then split between fourteen staff members. A computer from the check-in desk, as well as passenger tickets and lists, were seized.
Warnings and subsequent shutdown
On March 16, 2007, the Indonesian government announced plans to shut down an unspecified Indonesian air carrier. Although no details were immediately released, it was revealed that the airline had had a string of recent accidents, making Adam Air the most likely candidate. One official from the airline, speaking anonymously as he was not permitted to speak to the press, said that Adam Air was "prepared for the worst." It was announced on March 22 that Adam Air was one of seven airlines that would have their licenses revoked within three months unless they could improve their safety standards. The other six airlines involved were Batavia AirBatavia Air
Batavia Air is an airline based in Jakarta, Indonesia. It operates domestic flights to around 30 destinations and international services to Singapore, China and Malaysia. Its main base is Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Jakarta...
, Transwisata Prima Aviation
Transwisata Prima Aviation
Transwisata Prima Aviation is an airline based in Indonesia. It operates charter services. Transwisata Prima Aviation is listed in category 2 by Indonesian Civil Aviation Authority for airline safety quality.-History:...
, Tri-MG Intra Asia Airlines
Tri-MG Intra Asia Airlines
Tri-MG Intra Asia Airlines is an airline based in Jakarta, Indonesia. The company bought the Let L-410 aircraft because Tri MG is expanding into passenger operations. They operate their Boeing 727 on a regular schedule to Singapore Changi Airport....
, Manunggal Air Services, Jatayu Airlines
Jatayu Airlines
Jatayu Airlines was an airline based in Jakarta, Indonesia. It operated domestic and international services from Jakarta and was established in 2000. Its main base was Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Jakarta...
and Kartika Airlines
Kartika Airlines
Kartika Airlines is an airline based in Jakarta, Indonesia. It operates domestic services from Jakarta. Its main base is Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Jakarta. Kartika Airlines is listed in category 2 by Indonesian Civil Aviation Authority for airline safety quality.- History :The airline...
. All fifty-four of Indonesia's airlines were told to make some improvements.
It was reported on June 28, 2007 that Adam Air would escape shutdown and had upgraded its safety rating to the middle tier. The airlines that lost their licenses were Jatayu Gelang Sejahtera, Aviasi Upataraksa, Alfa Trans Dirgantara and Prodexim and airlines that were grounded pending improvements and facing potential licence revocation were Germania Trisila Air, Atlas Delta Setia, Survey Udara Penas, Kura-kura Aviation and SMAC.
As reported on the local news, Adam Air reduced many of its flights. Adam Air decreased its frequencies to only several flights departing both from Jakarta Airport and Surabaya Airport.
On 16 March 2008, Adam Air was given 21 days by the Indonesian government to decide whether to close down after safety concerns prompted an investment group to unload its 50 percent stake in the airline. The following day, the president of Adam Air announced that more than half of the fleet had been seized after the airline defaulted on payments.
"Out of 22 planes, now we only have 10 because 12 of them have been declared in default. The other 10 have been declared in default as well, but I'm still trying to work out a way to restructure the payments," Adam Suherman was quoted as saying.
On 18 March 2008, after the accident at Batam
Batam
Batam is an island and city in Riau Islands Province of Indonesia, known for its free trade zone area as part of the Sijori Growth Triangle, is located off Singapore's south coast...
[in which a Boeing 737 skidded off the runway while landing], the Indonesian government suspended the airline's Air Operator Certificate. The airline was not allowed to fly and had three months to show safety improvements.
On 18 June 2008 the Indonesian authorities definitively pulled Adam Air's AOC, banning it from flying permanently.
However, the company had been in financial trouble even before the government's decision to shut it down, mostly due to mismanagement. The company's owner (Sandra Ang) had been allegedly embezzling the company's money. The financial losses from the embezzlement reportedly amounted to Rp 2.1 trillion (approximately US$ 210 million). On August 12, 2008, the Indonesian police named Sandra Ang as a suspect for money embezzlement. She was also barred from leaving the country by immigration.
External links
- Flyadamair.com (Archive) (Symantec warns for harmful code)
- Adamair.co.id (Archive)