Advertisement

Trouble continues for Lion Air as flight clips pole on take-off

By Nicholas Sakelaris
Indonesian rescuers recovered the landing gear from Lion Air JT-610 Photo by Fauzy/Chaniago/EPA-EFE
Indonesian rescuers recovered the landing gear from Lion Air JT-610 Photo by Fauzy/Chaniago/EPA-EFE

Nov. 8 (UPI) -- Less than two weeks after a Lion Air flight crashed into the Java Sea killing 189 people, another Lion Air flight clipped a lamp post on take-off in Bengkulu, Indonesia, Wednesday evening.

No injuries were reported but the aircraft's wing was damaged on take-off from Fatmawati Airport. The flight crew and aircraft were grounded during the investigation. Flight JT633 was flying to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. Another flight crew and aircraft were assigned to fly the 145 passengers to their destination.

Advertisement

"The airplane arrived at Soekarno-Hatta Airport at 11:50 p.m.," Lion Air spokesman Danang Mandala Prihantoro said.

He added that the pilot of the aircraft that hit the lamp post was following instructions from the air traffic controllers.

Lion Air is a discount carrier.

Experts are getting closer to pinpointing what went wrong with the doomed Lion Air flight that crashed on take-off on Oct. 29.

On Wednesday, Federal Aviation Administration officials released an emergency directive for pilots of Boeing 737-8 and -9 aircraft that's similar to the one Boeing issued on Tuesday.

It warns pilots that faulty data from the angle of attack sensor could cause the plane to make rapid dives. The FAA directive instructs pilots on what to do if this happens.

Advertisement

Flight crews had noticed problems with the same aircraft's speed on the previous four flights, including the day before when the plane quickly lost altitude. That led them to pinpoint the angle of attack sensor as a potential culprit.

Latest Headlines