A malfunction of the engine control system and an attempt by the crew to fix it could have caused the crash of a Boeing 737-524 aircraft in Indonesia. This is reported by Wall street journal with reference to the data of the preliminary investigation.
According to the information obtained during the decoding of the aircraft’s flight recorder, during the flight, the instruments recorded a problem in the operation of the automatic traction system, which regulates the flow of fuel and thrust to maintain the path set by the pilots, the newspaper writes.
However, instead of shutting down the system, the pilots of the aircraft tried to restore its functioning. This could cause an imbalance in the power of the aircraft engines and lead to difficulty in controlling the aircraft.
The publication in its material dated January 21 notes that the Boeing 737 is capable of flying on one engine, and pilots are trained to do this, but, as safety experts point out, an imbalance in engine thrust requires a quick response from pilots.
The deputy head of the Indonesian National Transport Safety Committee, Hario Satmiko, confirmed that investigators are considering the problem with the automatic traction system, but the records of the pilots’ peregors can finally shed light on the situation. They are in the second “black box”, which has not yet been lifted from the crash site.
On January 9, Sriwijaya Air’s Boeing 737-524, flying Jakarta-Pontianak, disappeared from radar four minutes after departure. Onboard there were 62 people, including 56 passengers and six crew members.
Soon, local authorities reported the crash of the liner, and eyewitnesses said that the aircraft crashed into the Java Sea. At the same time, representatives of the national search and rescue agency said that the ground services did not receive emergency signals. Later, experts found the remains of bodies, aircraft wreckage and black boxes at the crash site.
On January 15, specialists retrieved the data that was contained on the recorder, which recorded the flight parameters. It was noted that all 330 parameters were in good condition.
On January 21, Indonesian Transport Minister Budi Kariya Sumadi announced the completion of a search operation in the Java Sea.
