A member of the House of Representatives' Commission V Rifqinizamy Karsayuda has called on the Transportation Ministry to conduct thorough evaluation on air transportation amid the COVID-19 pandemic, following the Sriwijaya Air mishap.

"The Transportation Minister would need to conduct thorough evaluation regarding to air transportation during the pandemic," Karsayuda said in a statement here on Sunday.

He reminisced about the recommendation issued by the U.S Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in mid 2020 for more than 2,000 units of Boeing 737, specifically Boeing737-300, 737-400 and 737-500.

The FAA warned of possible corrosion on idled planes that could lead to a dual-engine failure.

It said, inspectors found compromised air check valves when bringing aircraft out of storage following four recent reports of single-engine shutdowns on planes that had been parked, prompting the directive for aircraft not operated for seven or more straight days.

Karsayuda said, the FAA finding should be seen as a warning for airlines in Indonesia that used Boeing 737s.

"The Transportation Ministry should anticipate the FAA finding. Therefore, the incident of (Sriwijaya Air) flight SJ-182 must become a momentum to evaluate our aviation industry amid the pandemic," he said.

Karsayuda said, he would ask legislators of the commission, Transportation Ministry and the National Committee on Transportation Safety (KNKT) to conduct the evaluation.

"There must be consequences of the declining frequency of flight for the airplanes, not to mention the problem of old airplanes," he added.

He admitted that the pandemic has hit the aviation industry badly but passengers safety should be put in priority.

A Sriwijaya Air jet with flight number SJ 182 believed to have crashed on Saturday (Jan 9) in the waters off Laki Island, Seribu Islands District, not long after taking off from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

The Boeing 737-500 airplane had its last contact with the air traffic controller when it was at 10,000 feet altitude at 2:40 p.m. local time, at 11 nautical miles north of the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and crashed in the waters of Seribu Islands between Lancang Island and Laki Island.

The ill-fated airplane was reportedly carried 50 passengers and 12 cabin crew on its flight from Soekarno-Hatta Airport to Pontianak, West Kalimantan. (antaranews)

Legislator calls on evaluation of air transport during the pandemic

Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi confirmed a joint SAR team has located the point where Sriwijaya Air flight SJ182 crashed and is focusing on finding the black box flight recorder.

"The finding is significant achievement since it might take days to do that in the past," he said in a virtual press conference here on Sunday

"I would like to express my pride to the team comprising the military, police, Basarnas (National Search and Rescue Agency) and KNKT (National Committee for Transportation Safety), while on the other hand I also offer my deep condolences over the demise of our brothers," he said.

Chief of the National Defense Forces (TNI) Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto said the TNI will provide a crane to salvage the wreckage of the plane.

Meanwhile, KNKT Chief Soerjanto said the committee will take a ping finder to the crash site to catch the signal of the plane's black box flight recorder.

"We already know the position of the black box. KNKT has received a ping finder so we will soon search for it. Hopefully, it will not take long time. We are concentrating on searching for the black box. Hopefully, it will not take long time today to find the black box," he said.

It is believed Sriwijaya Air flight  SJ182 crashed in the waters between Laki Island and Lancang Island in Thousands Islands or 11 nautical miles from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang in suburban Jakarta.

The Transportation Ministry has confirmed that airport authorities lost contact with Sriwijaya Air flight number SJ182 serving the Jakarta-Pontianak route at approximately 2:40 p.m.on Saturday.

According to the ministry, the Boeing 737-500 jet, registration number PK CLC, had its last contact at a position 11 nautical miles north of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport after passing an altitude of 11,000 feet and while rising to 13,000 feet.

The plane took off from Soekarno-Hatta Airport at 2.40 p.m. local time on Saturday, and was scheduled to land at Supadio Airport in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, at 3:50 p.m.

Based on the manifest, the plane carried 50 passengers and 12 crew members. (antaranews)

The African National Congress (ANC) is a center-left political party in South Africa. This party ruled in South Africa since it gained majority power in May 1994. It was established on January 8, 1912 in Bloemfontein to protect the rights of South African colored people. Some of its founders are Albert Lutuli, the winner of Nobel Prize Awards, poet and author Sol Plaatje and John Dube. Until 1923, this party was named South African Native National Congress. ANC is the only one party which has governed South Africa since 1994. The support reduced a bit in the general elections in 1999, but they regained more vote in the following 2004 elections.

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Arifin Tasrif expressed his ministry’s readiness to implement the global agreement to curb a rise in the earth’s temperature in the wake of motor vehicle emissions and fuel oil use.

The minister made the remarks in response to provisions on the use of fuel oil in Environment and Forestry Minister’s Regulation No. P20/Menlhk/Setjen/Kum1/3/2017.
The regulation stipulates that fuel oil or gasoline should have a research octane number (RON) of at least 91.

"In response to the new regulation of the environment and forestry minister, of course, we must follow the global agreement to curb a rise in (global) temperature due to (motor vehicle) emissions," Tasrif noted here on Thursday.

In fact, the government has targeted carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction in the use of energy, the minister remarked.

To this end, the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry will conduct stage-wise implementation of the provisions with a special strategy, he stated.

Tasrif is optimistic that the government would remain committed to complying with the international agreement as the implementation of the regulation.

"We also have set ourselves the target of reducing the many million tons of CO2. This has to do with our energy consumption. Hence, we will implement this program in stages, with a special strategy, so we can be committed to the international agreement and can adapt to the regulation of the environment and forestry minister," he noted. (antaranews)