Pilots of a Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737-500 had reported problems with the autothrottle (A/T) system command 65 times in the eight years before a Jan. 9, 2021, crash that killed all 62 passengers and crewmembers, Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC) says.
The accident, which occurred minutes after the airplane departed from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, Indonesia, destroyed the airplane.
In its final report, the NTSC concluded that the airplane’s A/T system command had been unable to move the right thrust lever because of friction or binding in the mechanical system. As the cruise thrust split monitor (CTSM) system failed to disengage, thrust asymmetry between the two engines increased to the point that the airplane turned left when the pilots attempted to turn right.
“The aircraft entered an upset condition, and the pilot was unable to recover the situation,” the report said. “Inadequate … upset prevention and recovery traini…
