The aircraft, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82, with line number 49189 and manufacturer's serial number 1173, made its first flight on 13 November 1984, later delivered on 20 December 1984 and operated byMexican carrier Aeroméxico as XA-AMP and named ”Aguascalientes” before being acquired by Lion Air in 2002 and registered as PK-LMN. Lion Air had sold the aircraft to another airline for delivery in January 2005.
Accident
Flight 583 took off from Jakarta at around 17:00 local time carrying a total of 146 passengers and 7 crew members. Most of the passengers were members of the Nahdlatul Ulama, who were attending a national meeting held after the victorious result of the 2004 Indonesian Presidential Election. The flight was uneventful until its landing. The flight arrived at the airport during dusk, at around 18:00 local time in heavy rain. A thunderstorm was reportedly present during the landing. Flight 583 was configured appropriately for landing, touched down "smoothly" according to most passengers, and the thrust reversers were deployed. The aircraft, however, failed to slow adequately, overran the runway and slammed into an embankment. The impact caused the floor of the front portion of the plane to collapse, reportedly killing many of the passengers. The aircraft split into two sections, coming to rest in the end of the Runway and fuel began to leak. Passengers had difficulty locating emergency exits in the waning light. Some of the passengers self-evacuated through the opening in the fuselage.
Immediate aftermath
The airport was closed and emergency services were notified. Injured passengers were transported by police vehicles and ambulances to numerous hospitals across Solo. At least 14 of the dead were transported to the Pabelan Hospital. 6 people, 2 dead and 4 injured, were transported to Panti Waluyo Hospital. Others were transported to Oen Kandangsapi, Brayat Minulya, Kasih Ibu, Oen Solo Baru and PKU Muhammadiyah, as well as facilities in Boyolali and Karanganyar. Survivors with minor injuries were treated inside the airport VIP terminal. 25 people were killed and 59 others were seriously injured.
Passengers and crew
Most of the passengers were Indonesians, while airport officials confirmed that one Singaporean woman was among the injured. The pilots at the control of the flight were Captain Dwi Mawastoro and First Officer Stephen Lesdek. Captain Dwi died in the crash while First Officer Lesdek survived with serious injuries.
Investigation
The newly elected Indonesian PresidentSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered an immediate investigation onto the cause of the crash of Flight 583 and stated that the investigation should be open to the public to prevent unwanted rumors in the aftermath of the crash. Minister of TransportationHatta Rajasa stated that the Transportation Department would evaluate the Indonesian airline operations in response to the crash of Flight 583 in addition to two other similar incidents which occurred on the same day. The black box was subsequently found on 1 December 2004 and was transported to the Adi Sumarmo Emergency Operations Center. A witness to the crash claimed that lightning struck the plane during its landing phase. According to him, the landing light and the interior lighting were extinguished after the strike. Lion Air "claimed responsibility" for the crash and stated that they would pay the hospital bills of the survivors. However, they denied that the crash was caused by the airline's misconduct and stated that weather was the main factor. According to them, Flight 583 experienced a tailwind during its landing, which explained why the plane didn't stop. Others claimed that the brakes or the thrust reversers malfunctioned. The pilot did not put the throttle into flight idle, this cause the spoiler to retract, one of the reverse thrust also found to be faulty. The preliminary report was published in 2005. Investigators stated that the plane's braking system was not at its optimum level. This condition was aggravated by weather conditions during the accident. Investigators also identified a faulty thrust reverser as one of the cause of the crash; they subsequently issued several recommendations to Lion Air.
