The pilot of the Boeing 737 that crashed on March 7 upon landing at Yogyakarta Airport after a domestic Indonesian flight has been forced by his airline to resign. The crash of Garuda Indonesia Flight 200 killed twenty-one people, most being Indonesian nationals and five being Australians following a visit by then Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer.
Garuda sent the pilot, Marwoto Komar, an ultimatum requesting his resignation, which he complied with. Had he not, he would have been sacked. The news coincides with police officials forwarding prosecutors documents recommending Komar be charged with negligent manslaughter over the crash, which carries a maximum sentence of seven years imprisonment.
The final report into the disaster found that Mr Komar ignored fifteen activations of the Ground Proximity Warning System informing him he was attempting to land too fast. After touching down at double the maximum safe speed, the aircraft overshot the runway and caught fire.
Kamal Firdaus, legal representative of Mr Komar, said “We regret Garuda so soon giving Marwoto the option of being fired or resigning.”
Mr Komar was arrested early this month, but subsequently released on bail on February 15. He is thought to be the first pilot to face prosecution for an aviation accident or incident in Indonesia.
