Indonesia sends parts of crashed jet to US and UK

JAKARTA • Indonesia's air accident investigator has sent five components of a crashed Sriwijaya Air jet to the United States and United Kingdom for examination, including the autothrottle that controls engine power automatically.

The 26-year-old Boeing 737-500 crashed into the Java Sea shortly after take-off from Jakarta on Jan 9, killing all 62 people on board.

National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) chief Soerjanto Tjahjono told Reuters the components had been sent for examination to help find out why an autothrottle parameter had changed. He did not identify the other parts.

The jet's flight data recorder (FDR) has been found and read by investigators, but a maritime search is ongoing for the cockpit voice recorder's (CVR) memory unit, which Mr Soerjanto said would help explain any human factors behind the crash.

"If we have only the FDR, we do not know why the parameter changed, what was the reason," he said of the autothrottle. "We need confirmation from the components that we sent to the US and UK, and the CVR."

KNKT said last month it was investigating whether a problem with the autothrottle system contributed to the crash, given an issue with it had been reported on a flight a few days earlier.

Citing sources close to the investigation, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) last month reported that the FDR data showed the autothrottle system was not operating properly on one of the plane's engines as it climbed on departure from Jakarta.

The FDR indicated that instead of shutting off the system, the pilots tried to get the stuck throttle to function, the WSJ said. That could create significant differences in power between the engines, making the jet harder to control.

Mr Soerjanto said the WSJ report was incorrect, and more information would be provided in the KNKT's preliminary report.

REUTERS