SilkAir Flight 185

On December 19, 1997 a SilkAir Boeing 737-300 operated as SilkAir Flight 185 was a flight from Jakarta to Singapore with 97 passengers and 7 crew members on-board, which crashed into the Musi River for unknown reasons killing all 104 people on-board.

SilkAir Flight 185
Computerized image that recreates the moment of the accident.
Occurrence summary
Date19 December 1997; 26 years ago (1997-12-19)
SummaryCause disputed:
PlaceMusi River, Palembang, Indonesia
2°27′30″S 104°56′12″E / 2.45833°S 104.93667°E / -2.45833; 104.93667Coordinates: 2°27′30″S 104°56′12″E / 2.45833°S 104.93667°E / -2.45833; 104.93667
Passengers97
Crew7
Fatalities104
Survivors0
Aircraft typeBoeing 737-36N
Airline/userSilkAir
Registration9V-TRF
Flew fromSoekarno–Hatta Int'l Airport, Jakarta, Indonesia
Flying toSingapore Changi Airport, Singapore

The cause of the crash remains disputed for the National Transportation Safety Committee, but the National Transportation Safety Board concludes the crash as a pilot suicide by the captain. But the Los Angeles Court thinks that the cause of the crash was a rudder malfunction.

Passengers and crew

SilkAir issued a press release on 19 December 1997 with a passenger count by nationality,[1] and another the following day with crew details and a complete passenger manifest.[2]

Victims' nationalities
Nationality Passengers Crew Total
  Singapore 40 6 46
  Indonesia 23 0 23
  Malaysia 10 0 10
  Mexico 7 0 7
  United States 5 0 5
  France 5 0 5
  Belgium 4 0 4
  Germany 4 0 4
  Cuba 3 0 3
  Philippines 3 0 3
  United Kingdom 3 0 3
  Japan 2 0 2
  Canada 2 0 2
  Netherlands 1 0 1
  Italy 1 0 1
  Israel 1 0 1
  Austria 1 0 1
  India 1 0 1
  Romania 1 0 1
  Taiwan 1 0 1
  South Africa 1 0 1
  Argentina 1 0 1
  Spain 1 0 1
  Venezuela 1 0 1
  Australia 1 0 1
  New Zealand 0 1 1
Total 97 7 104

SilkAir Flight 185 Media

References