Lion Air has experienced some significant aircraft incidents in recent months. The first was the fatal crash of Lion Air 610 which claimed the lives of all 189 individuals onboard. This led to a public spat with Boeing over the withholding of information. Just 10 days after the crash, a Lion Air aircraft collided with a pole at Fatmawati Airport located in Bengkulu City.
Now, Lion Air is back in the news for another negative event. Lion Air 714, operated by a 737-800 suffered a runway excursion at Pontianak-Supadio International Airport. The aircraft landed in rain and poor visibility. After landing, the plane rolled to the end and off of Runway 15 causing significant damage. The forward fuselage, from the nose to the engines, rested on the ground. The incident forced the airport to close for a significant amount of time. No passengers were injured during the incident.
Data from #JT714 from Jakarta to Pontianak, which experienced a runway excursion on landing. https://t.co/Ntkz2a6lZZ pic.twitter.com/ViISr6IUe9
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) February 16, 2019
BREAKING: #JT714 #PKLPS suffered runway excursion upon landing at #Pontianak #PNKairport just now amidst rain and poor visibility. No injuries reported. pic.twitter.com/LVrCigRTTl
— Gerry Soejatman (@GerryS) February 16, 2019
Final Word
Something has to change and change soon with Lion Air. I thought it would have happened when Lion Air 610 crashed, but the company continues to operate in the same unsafe manner. Policy changes nor cancelling orders with Boeing has worked. I feel that it time for a leadership change. Hopefully, that will facilitate a culture change throughout the entire company.
Lion Air has its lion’s share of rough news Rob. The thing getting me; these are basic safety protocols the airlines seems to be overlooking. Do you want to force a landing in bad conditions, or lose your rep, go bankrupt and see the airlines shut down? Gotta have a vision.