LION AIR'S DARK PAST
The crash of the Lion Air flight, despite clear weather, experienced flight crew and a Boeing 737 just two months old, has cast a dark spotlight on Indonesia's chequered aviation history and that of Lion Air, one of the country's biggest and youngest airlines that has just suffered its deadliest disaster.
The low-cost airline, which launched in 2000,
has seen a number of crash landings and aircraft malfunctions. These are some of the most dramatic moments in the airline's short history.
2004: Just four years after it started operating, Lion Air suffers its first deadly crash, when 25 people are killed when flight 538 crashes into a cemetery in Surakarta.
2006: A McDonnell Douglas aircraft was written off when it crashed after touching down at Juanda International Airport and skidding off the runway. It was found the left thrust reverser, which was needed for the landing, was out of service. There were no fatalities.
2007: All Indonesian airlines, including Lion Air, are banned from flying to Europe due to safety concerns. The European Union's ban relaxed over the next decade, and was completely lifted in June. The US also lifted a 10-year ban on Indonesian airlines in 2016.
2010: Some passengers are injured when flight 712 landed on its belly at Supadio Airport. All 174 passengers and crew are evacuated by the emergency slides.
2011 and 2012: Lion Air pilots are arrested for drug possession.
2013: On April 13, flight 904 from Bangdung to Denpasar with 108 people on board crashed into waters near Bali after overshooting the runway. The fuselage of the Boeing 737-800 split into two parts and passengers had to swim for their lives. Miraculously, all survived.
2014: Two passengers were seriously injured and three suffered minor injuries when a Boeing 737-900 landed hard on the runway at Surabaya's Juanda airport and bounced five times on the runway.
2017: About 300 litres of fuel spilt on the tarmac at Surabaya's Juanda International Airport from a Lion Air aircraft's wings. All passengers were evacuated and the plane was grounded for further investigation.
2018: On April 28, flight 892 ran off the runway at Jalaluddin Airport after landing under heavy rain conditions. The main nose gear collapsed but there were no fatalities.
The European Commission says it has no immediate plans to ban Indonesian airline Lion Air again after yesterday's crash.
Harro Ranter, who runs the Aviation Safety Network, told AP that Indonesian airlines dealt with difficult terrain, frequent bad weather leading to poor visibility and shortcomings with air traffic controllers.
"Indonesia does stand out … they did have some really bad accidents in the past," he said.
"It's hard to judge if they have made sufficient progress with regard to safety."
The Lion Air crash appears to be the first involving the Boeing 737 Max 8, a more fuel-efficient update of Boeing's 737, which is the best-selling airliner ever.
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