Critical information could have stopped plane stalling

Just a week after a Lion Air jet plunged into the ocean killing 189 people, another one of its planes has crashed in Indonesia.

Just a week after a Lion Air 737 plane crashed claiming the lives of 189 people, another one of its planes has been involved in an accident during takeoff.

Lion Air flight JT633 reportedly crashed into a pole at the Bengkulu-Fatmawati Soekarno Airport, Indonesia yesterday as it was about to take off for Jakarta.

The crash caused its left wing to tear, as well as flight delays involving airlines such as Batik Air, according to Channel News Asia.

It hit the pole at about 11am on Wednesday while manoeuvring in front of the terminal building.

Newsinflight reported another aircraft was deployed to transport the 143 passengers of the Lion Air to Jakarta. No injuries have been reported.

A Facebook user, Irsan Hidayat posted images of the damaged plane, showing a large fragment dangling from the wing of the aircraft as people gathered on the tarmac with some holding their luggage.

The incident comes as authorities continue to search for the bodies of passengers from the fatal crash of the Lion Air flight JT610, which plunged into the Java Sea en route to Pangkal Pinang.

Virgin Australia is waiting for the outcome of flight JT610’s investigation see if any changes need to be made for its order of Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft.

Boeing and US aviation authorities have issued global safety warnings to airlines following the October 29 crash that killed all 189 people on board.

Virgin has ordered 30 of the fuel-efficient 737 Max 8 aircraft, which are due for delivery in November 2019 and will replace its existing 737-700/800 planes.

Pesawat Lion Air JT633 menabrak palang besi di bandara Fatmawati Soekarno, Bengkulu malam ini (7/11) sekitar pkl 18.45 wib, akibatnya sayap kiri pesawat rusak parah, dan keberangkatan pesawat ke Jakarta ditunda menunggu perbaikan besok pagi. pic.twitter.com/5xg3oEzKEp

— #PrayForPalu (@Daeng_Info) November 7, 2018

It’s understood the order remains in place but Virgin Australia is monitoring the outcome of an investigation by Indonesian authorities into the crash to see if any recommendations are made for changes to be made to the aircraft.

Singapore Airlines’ regional carrier SilkAir is the only airline operating the 737 Max 8 aircraft in Australia.

Comment was being sought from SilkAir, which began flying 737 Max 8 aircraft between Singapore, Cairns and Darwin in January this year.

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Indonesian investigators on Wednesday said a crucial sensor was replaced on the Lion Air jet the day before it crashed, possibly exacerbating other problems with the plane.

The “angle of attack” (AOA) sensor was designed to monitor the angle of the aircraft nose to stop it from stalling and diving.

But the sensor was replaced on the doomed plane after Lion Air workers tried to fix problems with its airspeed indicator.

Boeing said it was co-operating with Indonesian authorities as they investigate the Lion Air crash.

In its safety warning to airlines on Wednesday, Boeing directed them to existing flight crew procedures to address issues with erroneous input from an AOA sensor.

“The investigation into Lion Air flight 610 is ongoing and Boeing continues to co-operate fully and provide technical assistance at the request and under the direction of government authorities investigating the accident,” Boeing said.

The warning prompted the US Federal Aviation Administration to issue its own emergency airworthiness directive, telling airlines with Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft to follow correct procedures if pilots receive erroneous information from an AOA sensor.

The FAA directive applies to about 250 Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft operating worldwide.

“This condition, if not addressed, could cause the flight crew to have difficulty controlling the airplane, and lead to excessive nose-down attitude, significant altitude loss, and possible impact with terrain,” the FAA said.

Boeing has previously described its 737 Max stable of aircraft as the fastest- selling in the company’s history.

More than 100 airlines have placed 4700 orders for the aircraft.

A Lion Air plane, similar to the one that crashed last week. Picture: Adek Berry/AFP

Officials from the US National Transportation Safety Board examine recovered debris from the crash on November 1. Photo: BAY ISMOYO / AFP

Lion Air JT610 plunged into the Java Sea less than half an hour after taking off from Jakarta on a routine flight to Pangkal Pinang city. There were no survivors.

The doomed jet was a Boeing 737-Max 8, one of the world’s newest and most advanced commercial passenger planes, and there is still no answer as to what caused the crash.

A preliminary report is expected at the end of the month.

Soerjanto Tjahjono, head of Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee told reporters on Wednesday that after one flight from Bali to Jakarta — the last flight before the crash — the left and right AOA sensors were found to disagree by 20 degrees.

He said the pilot had landed the plane safely on that occasion.

“The pilot’s success became our reference to give a recommendation to Boeing so they could issue an advice for other airlines to follow the same procedures if the same situation occurs,” Soerjanto said.

Bambang Supriyadi, left, the father of Jannatun Cintya Dewi, a victim of a Lion Air plane crash, prays at the grave of his daughter during her funeral in Sidoarjo, Indonesia. Photo: AP Photo/Trisnadi

He added that the broken sensor from the Bali-Jakarta flight would be sent to the manufacturer in Chicago for further examination.

“We also plan to conduct a flight reconstruction to see the impact of the AOA sensor damage in the engineering simulator at the Boeing facility in Seattle.”

Search teams combing the wreckage of JT610 have filled 186 body bags with remains but only 44 victims have been identified so far.

Indonesian officials said on Wednesday they would extend the search by three days.

Divers have recovered one of the two “black boxes” — the flight data recorder — but are still looking for the cockpit voice recorder, in the hope it will shed more light on the cause of the accident.

Former fighter pilot Christian Boucousis told news.com.au he could understand why some Australians might not want to set foot on a 737 MAX 8 until the cause of the crash was known.

“Obviously there was some kind of catastrophic event, but it’s too early in the investigation to say whether it’s an issue with the aircraft, pilot error, a terrorist attack or bomb, or a maintenance fault.

“But it’s a very curious thing. (The crash) happened at a very benign stage of the flight, while the weather was good. It’s unusual.”

— with AAP and AFP