Lion Air Plane Rips Wing in Runway Crash Following Fatal Accident
Lion Air Plane Rips Wing in Runway Crash Following Fatal Accident
(Bloomberg) -- Days after Lion Air lost a plane in Indonesia’s worst air disaster in two decades, the carrier has found itself in the midst of another incident.
A Boeing 737-900ER operated by PT Lion Mentari Airlines clipped a pole late Wednesday while taxiing at Bengkulu airport in southern Sumatra, shearing the tip of its left wing, the carrier said in a statement. Authorities grounded the aircraft for investigation, while ground staff guiding the plane have been questioned.
A brand new Boeing 737 Max 8 jet operated by the Indonesian budget carrier plunged into the Java Sea minutes after takeoff from the nation’s capital on Oct. 29, killing 189 people.
While investigators are still piecing together evidence and data to find the exact cause of the crash, the plane manufacturer cautioned operators Tuesday that a sensor malfunction could trick the plane into pointing its nose down to gain speed, and stressed pilots should follow existing guidelines if this issue arises.
To contact the reporter on this story: Harry Suhartono in Jakarta at hsuhartono@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Thomas Kutty Abraham at tabraham4@bloomberg.net, Sam Nagarajan
©2018 Bloomberg L.P.