Crashed Lion Air Plane Removed By Cutting Airframe

Kuta, Bali, April 16 (Antara) - The crashed Lion Air passenger jet in Bali, was cut up, instead of being towed, on Tuesday to move the carcass from Segara Beach to Kelan Beach, Kuta. Twelve personnel of the Under Water Diving Division (Dislambair) of the Indonesia Navy of Surabaya (Koarmatim) were involved in the operation. Nine of the personnel cut the Boeing 737-800 NG passenger jet in Segara Beach. "The other three members are on the way from Surabaya carrying some technical equipment," Chief of the Lion Air wreckage cutting operation Captain Asih Hamzar said here Tuesday. The team would carry out surface cutting and underwater cutting methods for the wreckage. Moreover, a hydraulic cutting will be done to float the fuselage using four airbags, with 25 meter in diameter. "One airbag can float 10-12 tons of weight," Hamzah said. The team estimated the wreckage will be moved entirely to Kelan Beach, located at the left side of Runaway 09 Ngurah Rai Airport, within three or four days. Although the team was well-trained, its members have never conducted a removal of airplane wreckage. "However, we do hope they can finish the job well," Hamzah said. The removal operation was earlier hampered by bad weather and the heavy flight traffic of Ngurah Rai Airport. "The high tide would be very helpful. However, we are sometimes upset by the sea waves," Hamzah said. Previously, an ill-fated Lion Air passanger jet skidded off the runway of Ngurah Rai airport in Denpasar, Bali, on Saturday afternoon (April 130). The plane was carrying 101 passengers and seven crews from Bandung, West Java, to Denpasar when the accident happened at 3.30 pm local time. There was no casualty in the accident. According to the plane`s manifest from the Hussein Sastranegara Airport, Bandung, the plane was carrying 95 adult passengers, five children, one baby, and seven crew members. The plane crashed on a shallow sea water near the airport and split into two. The cockpit voice recorder (CVR) was found by First Lieutenant Rendi Daniel (26) from the engineering unit of the Udayana Regional Military Command on Monday with the help of Lion Air technician Ramos Octavio. The chief of the Emergency Operation Center team, Purwanto, said he would immediately submit the VCR to the National Committee for Transportation Safety (KNKT) for study.