Another Lion Air Incident: Plane Hits Pole Taxiing To Runway

Another Lion Air Incident: Plane Hits Pole Taxiing To Runway

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Less than two weeks ago, there came the awful news that Lion Air Indonesia flight JT610 from Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang crashed with 189 people aboard. Unfortunately all those who were on board are believed to be deceased, and the search continues for the remains of the wreckage.

Lion Air has now suffered another unfortunate situation.

Lion Air Indonesia Flight JT633

Flight JT633 was preparing to depart from Fatmawati Airport in Bengkulu to Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta International Airport with 145 passengers on board at 6.20pm on Wednesday. The flight was operated by a Boeing 737-900ER aircraft, registration PK-LGY.

The plane hit a pole in front of the airport’s VIP terminal building as it was taxiing to the runway for take off, badly damaging the left wing.

Indonesia’s Ministry of Transportation released a statement saying:

We have received a preliminary report from the Head of Fatmawati Bengkulu Airport that the wing of Lion Air’s JT633 departing from Fatmawati Bengkulu Airport towards Soekarno Hatta Airport hit the Stand 3 parking pole in front of the Airport VIP building causing the left wing of the aircraft to be damaged

The plane returned to the terminal. Fortunately there are no reported injuries.

Pictures of the damaged wing were shared on Facebook.

Lion Air plane with damaged wind after hitting pole (Source: Facebook – Irsan Hidayat

Both the aircraft and the pilots have been grounded while the incident is investigated.

Bottom line

I often notice when taxiing at an airport just how much space there is around runways, taxiways and remote stands. There are no details yet as to why the aircraft was in a position where it was so close to the pole, that it collided with it.

Fortunately this incident was not nearly as serious as the horrible flight JT610 tragedy, but two incidents within two weeks does not bode well for the airline.

Would you still fly Lion Air after these incidents?

Conversations (16)
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  1. D Guest

    @Bob

    While I enjoy reading this blog, your comment totes made me LOL.

    Shantay you stay.

  2. nancy Guest

    Bob's got it about right.

  3. John Guest

    I'm flying Thai LionAir this morning. I use them every two weeks or so on domestic routes in Thailand. They're a separately run airline here, operating under good Thai standards. One of my British mates is a pilot with them too. Only ever had good experiences with them in Thailand.

  4. Arnold Guest

    You wouldn't believe how little space there are between aircrafts and obstacles in some airports specially in Asia. However is the PIC responsibility always to make sure a safe clearance. If in doubt, you stop.

  5. Zitsky Guest

    @Bob "bunch of Queens"? That's a real low life comment. Tacky.

  6. Bob Guest

    "This is just bad taste, and most importantly C L I C K B A I T… the one thing I read OMAAT to avoid."

    Err, you are definitely in the wrong place. They don't have a single technical blogger on staff, what do you expect out of travel agents like James - a detailed analysis of regional flight ops? A crash investigation?

    It's a bunch of Queens who use credit card referrals to...

    "This is just bad taste, and most importantly C L I C K B A I T… the one thing I read OMAAT to avoid."

    Err, you are definitely in the wrong place. They don't have a single technical blogger on staff, what do you expect out of travel agents like James - a detailed analysis of regional flight ops? A crash investigation?

    It's a bunch of Queens who use credit card referrals to look down at other people whilst drinking Champagne and watching Two Broke Girls in their tracksuits.

    The whole thing is an opinion piece from the Real Housewives of Points and Miles.

  7. Alejandro Guest

    @ James,
    I have been reading your last posts and let me tell you, please dedicate to do a different thing!

    You start here saying "presumed deceased" when everybody knows that all those innocents are dead. And do you think that anybody in the world can still think that anybody could still be alive after 2 weeks?
    If you say "presumed" implies that anybody can still think there may be a survivor, from...

    @ James,
    I have been reading your last posts and let me tell you, please dedicate to do a different thing!

    You start here saying "presumed deceased" when everybody knows that all those innocents are dead. And do you think that anybody in the world can still think that anybody could still be alive after 2 weeks?
    If you say "presumed" implies that anybody can still think there may be a survivor, from such devastating accident, when the plane and everything inside simply pulverized!

    Then, you do not "abort a take off" when you are in the taxiway! Please!
    You may love planes and flying like I do, but I do not make those mistakes (and I do not write in any blog).

    Then, it has nothing to do the fatal accident with the unlucky event of hitting that pole. Why did it happen? Don't know, but they are completely different things.

    And at the end, I know that Lion Air has not the best reputation in the world; I live in Indonesia so I know it very well. And to be honest, I have never flied with them, and simply because I love Garuda Indonesia!
    But blaming everything to them without knowing exactly what happened (and I am referring to JT610), is pure s..t.
    Talk about something when you really know the real facts (sorry for the redundancy)!

    And BTW, earlier read one post you made about travelling by bus in Africa. WTF has to do with miles and points thing?
    I used to like what you wrote at the beginning, but now, it is really upsetting!
    Thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope, you say something about it

  8. Expathotelier Guest

    @Philip - you do realize that Batik Air is a subsidiary of Lion Air? It’s the same company with a pretty pattern on the tail.

  9. Philip Guest

    Here in Thailand Lion air is my least favorite carrier, but after all we are talking about Indonesia Lion. I always prefer Batik Air for Flights within Indonesia.

  10. Jimmy Guest

    Every time a serious accident happens to an airline, low-quality media keep getting excited with every single occurence onboard the airline for the next two weeks. It is especially crazy in Australia. Pure absurd.

    High safety standards require reporting all broken lights, switches and many *minor* things which makes flying so safe.

  11. Jason Guest

    Ridiculous. Why are you drawing a comparison between the two Lion Air flights?

  12. Ole Guest

    This is just bad taste, and most importantly C L I C K B A I T... the one thing I read OMAAT to avoid.

  13. Dominicus Guest

    I am flying Lion Air to do a write up on the experience soon, wish me luck!

  14. Aman Guest

    Lucky please don’t include Lion on your list of exotic airlines to review. We love you and want to see you safe!

  15. Ryan Guest

    I’m sure the aircraft did not “abort “ take off. Most likely taxied right back to the terminal. An abort is where an takeoff is attempted and stoppes

  16. Ethan Nemeth Guest

    Yesterday evening I was sitting at the Admirals lounge by C19 at DFW looking for flights between Bangkok and Tokyo for next summer. The cheapest option was Thai Lion Air, I wasn't looking to fly on a low-cost carrier regardless, but the first thing I could think of was "hell no".

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The comments on this page have not been provided, reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any advertiser, and it is not an advertiser's responsibility to ensure posts and/or questions are answered.

D Guest

@Bob While I enjoy reading this blog, your comment totes made me LOL. Shantay you stay.

0
nancy Guest

Bob's got it about right.

0
John Guest

I'm flying Thai LionAir this morning. I use them every two weeks or so on domestic routes in Thailand. They're a separately run airline here, operating under good Thai standards. One of my British mates is a pilot with them too. Only ever had good experiences with them in Thailand.

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