Deadly Overrun: The Crash Of Garuda Indonesia Flight 200

Garuda Indonesia flight 200 was a regularly scheduled early morning flight that went terribly wrong after the plane overran the runway and ended up in a rice paddy. On March 7, 2007, the incident occurred during a flight between Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (CGK) and Adisutjipto International Airport in Yogyakarta (JOG).

The aircraft operating on the flight was a 14-year-old Boeing 737-400 with the registration number PK-GZC. The captain on the flight was 44-year-old Muhammad Marwoto Komar, who had worked for Garuda Indonesia for more than 21 years. The first officer on the flight was 30-year-old Gagam Saman Rohmana, who had been with the Asian carrier for three years.

The plane was much higher than it should have been on approach

Captain Komar decided to make an instrument landing (ILS) at Yogyakarta and told the first officer what he intended to do. Adisutjipto Airport Air Traffic Control (ATC) cleared the aircraft for a visual approach on runway 9. However, the captain of the flight continued with the ILS approach and did not inform the tower.

At 07:35, when the plane was still 10.1 miles out, they were at an altitude of 1,427 above where they should have been with an airspeed of 283 knots. The captain descended the aircraft steeply in an attempt to get the plane at the right height for the correct approach but, in doing so, increased the plane’s airspeed.

Now flying at a speed that was more than the flap’s operational speed, the first officer decided not to extend the flaps as had been instructed by the captain. As the aircraft was making its approach, the Ground Proximity Warning System (GPWS) sounded three times, causing the first officer to tell the captain to abort the landing and perform a go-around. Not taking the first officer’s advice, captain Komar continued the approach with the flaps set at five degrees.

The aircraft passed the runway threshold at 89 feet and a speed of 232 knots, 98 knots faster than required for landing. When the plane touched down, it was 2,820 ft (860 m) beyond the threshold with a ground speed of 221 knots, prompting the first officer to again ask for a go-around.

The captain did not listen to the first officer

Captain Komar again ignored the advice, and the plane overran the runway, crashing through the perimeter fence and crossing a road. It hit an embankment before coming to a stop in a rice paddy. Fuel on the plane ignited and could not be reached by fire fighting equipment because of its location. While most of the 133 passengers managed to escape, 20 passengers and one crew member died.

After interviewing the crew and passengers and studying data, the Indonesian government National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC) released its findings which were:

• Excessively steep descent
• A much higher than average airspeed for the approach
• Captain Komar’s fixation on making the landing
• A failure to listen to the repeated warnings from the aircraft flight systems
• Not listening to the first officer telling him to abort the landing

A guilty verdict was later overturned

On February 4, 2008, captain Komar was arrested and charged with six counts of manslaughter. During his trial, the first officer told the court that he had asked the captain to abort the landing and do a go-around. A couple of months later, captain Komar was found guilty of negligence and sentenced to two years in prison. Garuda Indonesia pilots threatened to go on strike on hearing of the conviction. Meanwhile, captain Komar’s lawyers appealed the ruling to a higher court, which overturned the conviction saying that prosecutors had failed to prove the pilot was convincingly guilty of a crime.

About The Author