KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 5 — The Indonesian government has imposed mandatory pre-departure briefings for pilots prior to all flights, following the fatal crash of Indonesia AirAsia flight QZ8501 during heavy storms on Dec 28.
“The transportation minister has authorised the policy and it is now mandatory for pilots in any airline to do so. We spot-checked at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport yesterday and we found that airlines already implement the policy,” Jakarta Post reported Indonesian air transport official Djoko Murjatmodjo as saying yesterday.
It reported Transportation Minister Ignasius Jonan as saying that the briefings would keep pilots informed of possible emergency decisions they might have to make en route, including those caused by weather related challenges.
Flight QZ8501, which carried 162 people on board including a Malaysian passenger identified as 56-year-old Sii Chung Huei from Sarawak crashed into the Java Sea last Sunday about 40 minutes after departing Surabaya for Singapore.
A multi-nation search and recovery operation headed by Indonesia continues.
Inclement weather has also hampered efforts to retrieve the fuselage and Flight QZ8501’s black boxes, believed to be lying on the seabed.
