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Title : Indonesian jet returns due to "buzzing noise"
By :
Date : 04 May 2007 1326 hrs (SST)
URL : http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/274178/1/.html

JAKARTA - A Garuda Indonesia plane carrying hundreds of passengers returned to the city of Surabaya shortly after takeoff when the pilot heard a "buzzing noise", a report said Friday.

The national carrier's plane was 15 minutes into the flight to Singapore when the pilot decided to turn around, a company official said.

"The pilot decided to return back as the buzzing noise disrupted his concentration," said Sudjoko Dalijo, a Garuda manager in Surabaya, quoted by state Antara news service.

The decision was a precaution, the official added, and the Boeing 737-400, carrying 245 passengers, landed safely with no one injured.

The incident comes after a series of air accidents in Indonesia in recent months.

A Garuda plane crashed into a runway in Central Java in March, bursting into flames and killing 21 people.

Another plane belonging to the carrier landed safely on Sulawesi island despite bursting a tyre last month.

An Adam Air plane plunged into the sea off Sulawesi island on New Year's Day, killing all 102 on board.

The government says it is trying to improve passenger protection in the archipelago nation of 17,000 islands, which depends on air and sea links.

The accidents have been blamed on old planes and ships, poor maintenance and insufficient investment in infrastructure despite booming passenger numbers. - AFP/ir



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