Incident Overview
On 1 June 2008, Batavia Air flight 7P-591, an Airbus A320 registered as PK-YVE, was operating a scheduled passenger flight from Jakarta to Medan. The aircraft carried 140 people: two pilots, five cabin crew, and 133 passengers. It departed at 00:10 UTC and was scheduled to arrive at Medan at 02:25 UTC.
Flight Details
The flight landed on runway 05 at Polonia Airport, Medan, at 03:04 UTC. After a landing roll of 41 seconds, the aircraft came to a stop on the runway adjacent to taxiway D, approximately 1,200 meters from the estimated touchdown point. Three main-wheel tires and two main wheels sustained substantial damage. The aircraft could not be taxied or towed to the apron due to the wheel damage. Passengers and crew disembarked normally at taxiway D without any injuries. The runway was closed for about seven hours while the aircraft was inspected and the damaged wheels replaced.
Investigation Findings
The investigation revealed that the left landing gear down-lock cable was broken. The aircraft touched down with the wheel brakes locked because of a hydraulic lock in the system. This hydraulic lock resulted from the pilots' use of an incorrect manual landing gear extension procedure. The pilots' actions demonstrated insufficient understanding of the aircraft's landing gear system, leading to inappropriate troubleshooting and rectification. Additionally, the pilots lacked confidence in the aircraft's fuel state to conduct a go-around and fly past as cleared by air traffic control.
Probable Cause
The probable cause was the aircraft touching down with the wheel brakes locked due to a hydraulic lock, which was the result of an incorrect manual landing gear extension procedure used by the pilots.
Safety Recommendations
The NTSC issued two recommendations to address safety deficiencies: one to Batavia Air regarding flight crew technical knowledge of aircraft systems, fuel planning, and flight management, and another to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.