The Complexity of the World of Indonesian Aviation

Chappy Hakim invites the public to learn more about the world of Indonesian aviation.

UNDEFINED

The front page of the book is entitled Airplanes Are Dangerous.

The aviation industry in Indonesia still has many problems, one of which is the high number of accidents in national flights. Based on investigations, several factors that cause accidents are violations of existing rules, including pilot skills, airline operating licenses, price wars, and the maintenance system of facilities and infrastructure.

The book entitled Planes Are Dangerous (Kompas Book Publishers, 2024), which is composed of seven chapters, is a collection of articles by Chappy Hakim in Kompas from 1988 to 2023. As a form of his love in the world of aerospace, Chappy reveals the track record, polemics and challenges of aviation in Indonesia from a defense and security perspective.

Chappy Hakim revealed several aviation accident events in the nation. In early 2007, an Adam Air plane disappeared in Tambolaka due to the malfunction of the plane's navigation equipment. Then the Lion Air slipped in Ambon and the Boeing 737-900 enroute Jakarta-Balikpapan experienced takeoff failure because the bottom of the tail or cargo was torn about 2.5 meters.

Early in 2009, Lion Air JT972, carrying 162 passengers and six crew members, landed in Batam due to a broken nose wheel water deflector. This Deflector in the form of an iron rod has an important function of preventing water splashes from entering the aircraft engine when landing (landing).

Not only in Indonesia, on March 8 2014 a Boeing 777-200 aircraft also lost contact on the Kuala Lumpur-Beijing route. The disappearance of the plane belonging to the Malaysia Airlines System (MAS) airline has given rise to a lot of speculation. Because the plane didn't have time to send an emergency signal. The plane with 12 Malaysian crew and 227 passengers from 14 countries is unknown until now.

At San Francisco International Airport, the Asiana Airlines Flight B-777-200ER experienced an accident upon landing on July 6, 2013, resulting in three fatalities, 181 injuries, and 304 survivors.

Dependence on Automated Systems

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) explained that accidents occurred because pilots relied too much on automatic control mechanisms that had not been properly mastered. Two other investigative bodies, the Bureau d'Enquetes et d'Analyses pour la Securite de l'Aviation Civile (BEA) and the Dutch Safety Board (DSB) also confirmed that automation addiction is one of the causes of airplane crash.

Automatic systems in aircraft cockpits make flights safer, but their heavy dependence has reduced and disrupted pilots' concentration in flying the aircraft. The cause is suspected to be due to a decline in the pilot's skills in operating the aircraft manually. In addition, it was found that 60 percent of airplane accidents occurred due to errors in operating the flight management computer.

As revealed by Dr. Thomas "Mach" Schnell, leader of the research team from NASA who conducted research for more than three years on the issue of the relationship between pilots, automated systems, and airplane accidents. Since 2010, the new generation of pilots have been accustomed to using fully automated equipment from the beginning of their flight training. Consequently, during emergency situations they no longer have sufficient skills to fly their aircraft.

Chappy detailed efforts that can be taken to prevent accidents during flights. These efforts include strict supervision, high discipline, uncompromising enforcement of regulations, and legal action with deterrent effects in case of violations.

Cheap fight

In the past 10-15 years, the price of airplane tickets has been competing in a "cheap price battle" served by relatively new airplanes. This low-price competition has had a significant impact on the number of domestic airlines that have been operating for decades having to shut down, the competition for flight route slots swelling, and many airplane accidents occurring.

This fantastic increase in passengers means that service facilities at the airport cannot accommodate them properly. As a result, there are frequent delays (delayed) and cancellations (cancelled) of flight schedules. This is not running in harmony with plans for procuring human resources and developing aviation infrastructure.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, several airlines in Indonesia have been facing a crisis, such as Garuda Indonesia facing financial difficulties. On February 20, 2023, Merpati Nusantara Airlines was officially dissolved through Government Regulation No. 8 of 2023. Following that, Susi Air officially announced the cessation of pioneer flight operations in Papua on March 1, 2023, due to a plane burning incident and the hijacking of the captain pilot.

Amidst the technological advancements in aerospace, it is crucial for a country to maintain its sovereignty and dignity in the air. In accordance with the provisions of the 1944 Chicago Convention, a country's sovereignty in its airspace can be managed based on its complete and exclusive sovereign rights. Thus, we can fly comfortably and be respected according to our rightful ownership in our own sovereign airspace.

Through its flowing and informative writing, this book is not just an informative read for aviation enthusiasts. Rather, it also serves as an open window for anyone who wants to further understand the dynamics of Indonesian aircraft.

The hard efforts made by aviation authorities in Indonesia need to get a lot of support from parties who care about the world of national aviation. If you don't want the time bomb to continue to haunt the world of aviation in Indonesia. (R&D Kompas/SSY)

Book Data

Title: Airplanes Are Dangerous

Author: Chappy Hakim

Editor: Tri Agung Kristanto

Publisher: Kompas Book Publishers

Year of publication: 2024

Number of pages: xiv + 236 pages

ISBN: 978-623-160-253-4

ISBN: 978-623-160-254-1(PDF)