Lion Air To Surabaya Failed To Take Off At Sepinggan Airport Due To Engine Problems

Passengers enter the plane through the jet bridge of Sepinggan Airport, Balikpapan (Novi Abdi/Antara)

JAKARTA - The Boeing 737-900ER PK-LHM aircraft belonging to Lion Air failed to take off at Sepinggan Airport, Balikpapan, so the flight to Surabaya was canceled, Sunday, February 21.

The plane for Surabaya with flight code JT-261 was already on the runway and ready to take off at 14:40 East Indonesia Time, but then slowed down and stopped at the end of the runway.

"The pilot identified an indicator in the cockpit that indicated there were engine components that needed further checking and decided to cancel flying," said Lion Air Public Relations Danang Prihantoro in an official press release, reported by Antara, Monday, February 22.

In the statement, Danang mentioned 'low engine speed' as the reason the pilot decided to cancel takeoff.

Because of that the plane stopped and returned to the apron. The passengers, totaling 73 adults and 2 children, including 7 crew members, returned to the terminal.

"No one was injured. Everyone is safe,” said Danang.

For this incident, Lion Air apologized. To take the passengers to Surabaya, PK-LJV is sent from Yogyakarta with a departure schedule of 16.35 Central Indonesia Time and arrives in Surabaya at 17.10 Western Indonesia Time.

"But we welcome if there are passengers who want to refund or refund the ticket or change the departure schedule, in this case, it is not at 16:35," explained Danang.

Currently, technicians are still carrying out checks on the Boeing 737-900ER PK-LHM, while it is known that all passengers have safely arrived in Surabaya by PK-LJV.

On the other hand, Danang emphasized that the JT-261 bound for Surabaya was in good condition. All operational standards are in place before the aircraft takes off.

"The aircraft was declared airworthy," he said.

Apart from official training in dealing with emergencies, the last incident experienced by a Lion Air plane at Sepinggan Airport was in 2011. On October 23, 2011, which was also a Sunday, the plane that had just landed fell on its wheels on soft asphalt at the end of the runway.

At that time the rainy and windy weather hit Balikpapan. There were no fatalities in the incident.