What happened
On 7 March 2007, a Boeing 737-497, registered PK-GZC, was operating a scheduled passenger flight from Jakarta to Yogyakarta. During the pre-departure phase at Soekarno-Hatta Airport, the crew noted a thrust reverser fault light on the left engine, which ground engineers successfully reset prior to takeoff. The flight departed Jakarta at 23:17.
While en route, the crew received instructions from Jakarta Control to maintain a specific altitude and contact Yogyakarta Approach. During the descent phase, the pilot in command conducted a detailed briefing for an Instrument Landing System (ILS) approach to runway 09. Although the crew transitioned to visual meteorological conditions for the final approach, they did not communicate their specific ILS approach intentions to the Yogyakarta Approach or Tower controllers.
At approximately 23:58:10, the aircraft overran the departure end of runway 09 at Yogyakarta Airport. As the aircraft was exiting the runway, the pilot in command shut down both engines. The aircraft subsequently crossed a road and struck an embankment, coming to rest in a rice paddy field roughly 252 meters from the threshold of runway 27. The impact and a subsequent intense fire destroyed the aircraft. The accident resulted in 21 fatalities (comprising 20 passengers and one flight attendant) and numerous injuries, with 119 individuals surviving the event.