SilkAir Flight 185 information

SilkAir Flight 185
	9V-TRF, the aircraft involved in the crash.
Occurrence
Date	19 December 1997
Summary	Crashed into the Musi river from cruise altitude
Site	Musi River, Palembang, Indonesia ; 2°27′30″S 104°56′12″E / 2.45833°S 104.93667°E
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Boeing 737-36N
Operator	SilkAir
IATA flight No.	MI185
ICAO flight No.	SLK185
Call sign	SILK AIR 185
Registration	9V-TRF
Flight origin	Soekarno–Hatta Int'l Airport, Jakarta, Indonesia
Destination	Singapore Changi Airport, Singapore
Occupants	104
Passengers	97
Crew	7
Fatalities	104
Survivors	0

SilkAir Flight 185 was a scheduled international passenger flight operated by a Boeing 737-300 from Soekarno–Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, Indonesia to Changi Airport in Singapore that crashed into the Musi River near Palembang, Sumatra, on 19 December 1997, killing all 97 passengers and seven crew on board.^[1]

The cause of the crash was independently investigated by two agencies in two countries: the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC).^[2] The NTSB, which had jurisdiction based on Boeing's manufacture of the aircraft in the U.S., investigated the crash under lead investigator Greg Feith. Its investigation concluded that the crash was the result of deliberate flight-control inputs "most likely by the captain".^[3]^[4] While the Indonesian NTSC investigators found "no concrete evidence" to support the pilot suicide allegation, and the previously suspected Parker-Hannifin hydraulic power control unit (PCU) had already been determined by the manufacturer to be defect-free, the final statement from the NTSC was that they were unable to determine a cause of the crash and was thus inconclusive.^[5]

Although the NTSB and PCU manufacturer Parker-Hannifin had already determined that the PCU was properly working, and thus not the cause of the crash, a private and independent investigation into the crash for a civil lawsuit tried by jury in Los Angeles County Superior Court, which was not allowed to hear or consider the NTSB's and Parker-Hannifin's conclusions, decided that the crash was caused by a defective servo valve inside the PCU based on forensic findings from an electron microscope, which determined that minute defects within the PCU had caused the rudder hard-over and a subsequent uncontrollable flight and crash.^[5] The manufacturer of the aircraft's rudder controls and the families later reached an out-of-court settlement.^[6]

^ Sinha, Shreeya (26 March 2015). "A History of Crashes Caused by Pilots' Intentional Acts". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 18 April 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2015. A Boeing 737 belonging to the Singapore-based airline SilkAir was cruising at 35,000 feet in clear weather when it suddenly dove into a mangrove swamp near Palembang, Indonesia, on Dec. 19, 1997, killing all 104 people on board. Indonesian investigators said, that in the last seconds of the flight, there were indications that the pilot, Tsu Way Ming, "was in the process of, or intending to, leave the cockpit". He had recently been demoted and disciplined by the airline, and had large gambling debts. The government of Indonesia has yet to officially accept the findings.
^ "SilkAir Flight 185: Controversial Crash". AviationKnowledge. Archived from the original on 3 December 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
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[1] Sinha, Shreeya (26 March 2015). "A History of Crashes Caused by Pilots' Intentional Acts". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 18 April 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2015. A Boeing 737 belonging to the Singapore-based airline SilkAir was cruising at 35,000 feet in clear weather when it suddenly dove into a mangrove swamp near Palembang, Indonesia, on Dec. 19, 1997, killing all 104 people on board. Indonesian investigators said, that in the last seconds of the flight, there were indications that the pilot, Tsu Way Ming, "was in the process of, or intending to, leave the cockpit". He had recently been demoted and disciplined by the airline, and had large gambling debts. The government of Indonesia has yet to officially accept the findings.

[2] "SilkAir Flight 185: Controversial Crash". AviationKnowledge. Archived from the original on 3 December 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2012.

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[newsasia2004-6] Cite error: The named reference newsasia2004 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

SilkAir Flight 185 information

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December 19

Occurrence
9V-TRF, the aircraft involved in the crash.
Date	19 December 1997 (1997-12-19)
Summary	Crashed into the Musi river from cruise altitude
Site	Musi River, Palembang, Indonesia 2°27′30″S 104°56′12″E / 2.45833°S 104.93667°E / -2.45833; 104.93667
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Boeing 737-36N
Operator	SilkAir
IATA flight No.	MI185
ICAO flight No.	SLK185
Call sign	SILK AIR 185
Registration	9V-TRF
Flight origin	Soekarno–Hatta Int'l Airport, Jakarta, Indonesia
Destination	Singapore Changi Airport, Singapore
Occupants	104
Passengers	97
Crew	7
Fatalities	104
Survivors	0