Boeing 737-500 SJ-182 First Flew In 1994 And Was Used By Two US Airlines Before Sriwijaya

Sriwijaya Air aircraft. (Source: Commons Wikimedia)

JAKARTA - The Sriwijaya Air SJ-182 plane crashed around the waters of Male Island and Lancang Island, Thousand Islands, DKI Jakarta, Saturday, January 9. One of the things that was highlighted by this incident was the age of the aircraft.

Referring to planespotters, the Boeing 737-500 aircraft used by Sriwijaya Air in this incident was an alert from the Boeing factory in Renton, Seattle. This aircraft first flew on May 13, 1994. This means that this aircraft has a lifespan of about 26.7 years.

The first user of this aircraft was the American airline (US), Continental Airlines on May 31, 1994. Then, this plane changed hands to another Uncle Sam's airline, United Airlines since October 1, 2010. Then, Sriwijaya Air used the plane since May 15, 2012.

Decree of the Minister of Transportation of the Republic of Indonesia No.KM 115 of 2020 concerning the Age Limit for Aircraft Used for Commercial Air Transportation Activities. Aircraft in the transport category for passenger air transport are at most 20 years old.

Meanwhile, for other than the transport category, passenger air transport has a maximum age of 25 years. In comparison, Southwest Airlines as the first customer of the Boeing 737-500 with an order for 20 aircraft, took the first delivery in 1990. In 2016, they stopped flying its Boeing 737-500 fleet.

Not age

Professor of Aerospace Security from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Florida who is also an aviation accident investigator, Anthony Brickhouse said, although it needs to be discussed, the age factor of the aircraft cannot be completely blamed as the cause of the accident.

"Just because a plane is 26 years old does not automatically mean (the plane is) unsafe," he told USA Today.

Furthermore, he explained, the measurement of the operational life of an aircraft is not only based on the age of the aircraft. There is the best measure for measuring the operational life of an aircraft.

"The age of an airplane is not the best measure. The number of takeoffs and landings and flight hours is more important. The age of the aircraft does not necessarily tell us much," Brickhouse said.

Joint team to lift debris from Sriwijaya Air SJ-182 aircraft (Ilham Apriyanto / VOI)

Interestingly, there are other factors that Brickhouse highlights besides the age of the plane. According to him, what needs to be considered is the relatively poor record of aviation safety in Indonesia.

"Over the last 15 years they've definitely had some major safety challenges with different airlines," he stressed.

To note, since 2005 there have been several records of aviation problems in Indonesia. For example the Mandala Airlines accident in Medan, North Sumatra which killed 149 passengers on September 5, 2005. Then in 2007 there was a Lion Air accident 574 on the Surabaya-Manado route that killed 102 cabin crew and passengers.

There was also a Mimika Air 514 accident on Mount Gergaji, Papua that killed 11 passengers on April 17, 2009. In the same year, still in Papua, 16 people died in the Merpati Nusatara Airlines 9760 accident north of Oksibil.

Next, there was an Air Asia Indonesia accident with flight number QZ8501 in Java Sea, which killed 155 passengers and 7 crew members on December 28, 2014. And, in 2018, the Lion Air JT 610 plane crash killed 189 passengers and cabin crew.