Adam Air Flight 172
Adam Air Flight 172 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Soekarno–Hatta International Airport to Juanda Airport, Surabaya, Indonesia. On 21 February 2007, the Boeing 737-300 operating the flight made a hard landing at Surabaya and suffered cracking of the fuselage in the middle of the passenger section. All six of Adam Air's remaining 737s were immediately grounded, though five of them were back in regular service later that year. This incident caused further concerns regarding the safety of flights operated by Adam Air, which had received much criticism after the crash of Adam Air Flight 574 in 1 January 2007.
Aircraft
The aircraft involved was a Boeing 737-33A, registered as PK-KKV, was acquired by Adam Air in December 2006, after previously operated by number of airlines. The aircraft was manufactured in 1994.Accident
The plane fractured upon landing at Juanda International Airport, with the fuselage breaking in the middle of the passenger section. The landing was particularly hard, with baggage being ejected from cabin lockers into the cabin space. The tail section of the plane was bent down compared to the rest of the plane. Immediately after the incident, other flights headed for the airport were diverted. Adam Air's fleet of Boeing 737-300s was grounded for safety inspections in the interim. Immediately after the accident, Adam Air repainted the aircraft, covering the original orange livery with a plain white exterior. This was legally permissible, so long as no evidence was destroyed. In the immediate aftermath, a large number of passengers cancelled their flights with Adam Air, stating that they had "lost faith" in the airline. All of these cancellations were refunded in full.Grounding of Adam Air's 737s
As a result of the incident, all six remaining Adam Air 737s were immediately grounded awaiting safety checks. Vice-president of Indonesia Jusuf Kalla said that all Boeing 737-300s should be checked. He eventually decided the entire Indonesian fleet of 737s should be checked, but did not ground any more aircraft. Also, suggestions were made that Adam Air should be suspended from all operations until the entire fleet could be checked, with MP Abdul Hakim saying, "It will be good for the company and the government... until the flight authorities can determine if Adam Air is still worthy as a low-cost carrier".The Indonesian Transport Ministry said that if the aircraft showed signs of problems, the checks would be expanded to cover all 737s operating in Indonesia. On 5 March, five of the six aircraft were reported to have returned to normal operations, but the sixth was still undergoing a full maintenance overhaul at maintenance, repair, and overhaul firm GMF AeroAsia's facility. Adam Air had resumed its normal schedule by 9 March 2007.
Investigation
The accident was investigated by the National Transportation Safety Committee. Investigators compiled data from the Indonesian weather agency and the air traffic control center in Surabaya in an attempt to determine the cause. Officials state the aircraft did pass required safety checks before its departure. Boeing announced that it would also provide technical assistance to both the authorities and the airline during the investigation.The final report from the NTSC stated that the probable cause of the accident was an excessive sink rate upon touchdown, following an unstabilised approach. In the report, the NTSC noted that the approach was unstable below, with a vertical speed occasionally greater than 2500 ft/min. The vertical acceleration on landing was measured at 5 g. Additionally, the aircraft initially touched down with the right main gear about outside of the runway edge.
The investigation further revealed that no technical malfunction occurred on the aircraft before touchdown.
The flight crew was criticized for not maintaining a sterile cockpit during the landing, with excessive nonflight-related discussion going on throughout the flight.