Ministry Of Transportation Asks Boeing To Restore Public Trust In The Aftermath Of Lion Air Air Air Plane Accident

Spokesperson for the Ministry of Transportation Adita Irawati. (Photo: Doc. ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Transportation requested that Boeing restore public trust after pleading guilty of a fatal accident in 2018 that befell Lion Air on the Jakarta-Pangkal Pinang route and an accident involving Ethiopian Airlines in 2019.

Spokesperson for the Ministry of Transportation Adita Irawati said Boeing had faced a crisis of confidence regarding safety records since the two accidents.

Therefore, he said, Boeing must immediately reverse public trust.

"We encourage Boeing to immediately restore public trust," he said when contacted by VOI, Wednesday, July 10.

In the future, Adita said the Ministry of Transportation would continue to increase supervision related to the safety and security aspects of aircraft in Indonesia.

"We will continue to increase the supervision of aircraftworthiness, after Boeing's guilty confession, as part of flight security for the community," he said.

As previously reported, Boeing pleaded guilty and paid a fine of US$243.6 million or around Rp3.96 trillion, CNBC reported, citing the United States (US) Department of Justice.

The fine was imposed on charges of criminal fraud related to two fatal 737 MAX aircraft accidents that occurred in 2018 and 2019.

"We can confirm that we have reached a principle agreement on the resolution requirements with the Department of Justice, which still has to be approved and ratified by certain requirements," CNBC quoted the company as saying by ANTARA from Sputnik, Monday, July 8.

The plea deal boils down to the installation of independent monitors to oversee the compliance of the aircraft-building company for three years.

Boeing also had to invest at least $455 million in compliance and safety programs, CNBC said.

The US Department of Justice notified Boeing in May that the company would be subject to criminal charges.

This was done after the government agency found that Boeing violated the 2021 settlement which made the company pay a fine of 2.5 billion US dollars (around Rp40.6 trillion) and promised to improve its safety and compliance protocol.

Federal prosecutors recently recommended to senior Justice Department officials that Boeing be prosecuted for failing to improve his aircraft safety after a series of accidents this year.

"Including the exploding door panel from the Alaska Airlines flight shortly after takeoff," a source close to the matter told Sputnik.