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To Victim Families:

Our prayers are with the families of the 62 passengers and who died in the horrific crash of Sriwijaya Air Flight SJ182.  After decades helping hundreds of air crash victims, we understand the depth of your sorrow. Mere words are insufficient, but please accept our sincere condolences.

Please take as much time needed to mourn. When grieving, take care of yourself personally. Get ample rest, eat properly, and exercise. Just going for walks can help.

While grieving, do not agree to sign any documents presented by Sriwijaya Airlines or anyone else without consulting an experienced aviation attorney.

General Air Crash Information

We provide you with this information to help you confront, when you are ready, the legal challenges you will face seeking justice from those responsible for losing your loved ones. 

The following are five points you need to know immediately:

1.           Do not agree to anything or sign any documents presented by Sriwijaya Airlines, Boeing, government agencies, insurers or anyone else without consulting with an experienced aviation lawyer. You have an absolute right to seek legal advice. This is very important for you and your family.

In the Lion Air Flight JT610 plane crash, Global Aerospace, the insurer for Lion Air, baited and trapped victim families into signing illegal Release and Discharge (“R&D”) documents by luring the families with minimal compensation immediately. 

Victim families who signed the illegal R&D had to forfeit all their rights to receive full compensation from those responsible for the accident, not only from Lion Air but also from Boeing and over 1,000 other potential defendants. Do not fall into this trap.

In April of 2019, when our firm was representing 46 victim families in the Lion Air crash, I sent a letter to Lion Air and its insurer, Global Aerospace, pointing out the “release and discharge” waiver was illegal, invalid, and inhumane. 

The legal expert in the Bangka Belitung Governor’s office, Mr. Zaidan, remarked that the illegal R&D was so “lacking in humanity, even Satan himself would not have written it.”

2.           Do not discuss your case with representatives of Sriwijaya Airlines, Tugu Pratama Insurance Company, Boeing, government agencies, insurers or anyone other than your family, fellow victims, your doctors, or your lawyers. People working for the defendants may seem sympathetic and helpful, but their goal is to protect their employers and to settle your claim cheaply.

3.           Start a diary/journal in which you record all your suffering—both physical and emotional. Preserve all financial records including income, taxes, business/corporate records, bank account, and budgets. Further, keep records of all medical treatment and all expenses.

4.           Seek psychological/grief counseling. Not only can it be vital for your mental health, but it will also document your suffering, which will help prove the extent of your damages when the time comes.

5.           Victims need legal advice from lawyers not only skilled in these complicated aviation disaster cases, but also experienced in representing Indonesians in US and International courts. Your lawyers must know the cultural differences to be effective. The sooner your lawyers start work on your behalf, the more successful they will be. 

Lawyers representing Sriwijaya Airlines and Boeing are already at work preparing their clients’ cases opposing you and your family. It is critical you seek legal counsel as soon as you are able.

Again, do not sign anything presented to you by Sriwijaya or anyone else until you’ve received legal counsel from an experienced aviation attorney.

Investigation of Sriwijaya Air Crash

It is too early to reach conclusions on the cause of this crash and who is responsible. In the weeks and months to come, all possible causes will be investigated, including but not limited to manufacturing issues, pilot error, and equipment failure including a possibly malfunctioning autothrottle. What follows is a summary of what has been reported so far. We are continually updating this page so please check back.

On Saturday, January 9, 2021, Sriwijaya Air Flight SJ182 departed Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta at 2:36 p.m. local time. The flight was delayed about an hour because weather at the airport was poor with heavy rainfall, low clouds, and nearby thunderstorms.

The domestic flight was headed to Pontianak, the capitol of West Kalimantan province on Indonesia’s Borneo Island, when it lost contact with air traffic control only 4 minutes after take-off. 

Flightradar 24, which posts global air traffic information, reported the Boeing 737-500 took off at 2:36 p.m. local time and climbed 3322 meters in four minutes. Before crashing into the sea, the airplane rapidly descended over 3,000 meters in less than a minute. 

At the time of the crash, there were 62 passengers and crew members onboard, specifically 50 passengers, 6 active crew members and 6 off-duty crew members. The passengers included 7 children and 3 infants. Everyone on board was Indonesian. 

A local fisherman witnessed the crash while on a fishing vessel near Lancang Island. He reportedly said, “I was pulling our fishing trap when I saw something falling very quickly from the sky in front of me. It wasn’t too far from our spot, then there was a big explosion. It exploded in the water.” 

Sriwijaya Air, founded in 2003, is Indonesia’s third largest airline carrier. The airline provides service to 53 destinations within Indonesia and three regional countries. According to the airline’s website, it carries over 950,000 passengers per month. The airline’s safety record indicates there have been no onboard casualties in the four recorded incidents with the Aviation Safety Network database. However, a farmer was killed in 2008 when a Sriwijaya plane went off a runway due to a hydraulic issue. 

The airplane was a 26-year-old Boeing 737-500 – registered PK CLC (MSN 27323). Manufactured in 1994, the airplane was first delivered to US based Continental Airlines. In 2012, the plane joined the Sriwijaya Air fleet, which contains a variety of 737 variants. The lifespan of these planes can be 30 years or more and Boeing has a duty to warn users of dangers that become known.

Boeing 737 models are one of the world’s most popular planes. The 737-500 is a shorter version. Use of the 737-500 began in the 1990’s and production ended two decades ago. Boeing’s first 737 entered service in 1968. The 737 has undergone two generations of development before the most recent 737 Max. 

On October 28, 2018, it was a Boeing 737 Max that crashed into the Java Sea only 12 minutes after take-off, killing all 189 passengers and crew members onboard. This was Lion Air Flight JT610. Five months later, another Boeing 737 Max, Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET 302, crashed 6 minutes after take-off killing all 157 passengers and crew members onboard. 

Herrmann Law Group was honored to represent the families of 46 victims of Lion Air Flight JT610 and 4 victims of Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET302 in successful lawsuits against Boeing litigated in the US.

The settlement amounts of each case varied with the victims’ individual circumstances. While Boeing insisted the specific amounts be kept secret, we can tell you that in the USA, wrongful deaths in air crash cases are generally worth millions of U.S. dollars. 

Who is Responsible

As to the causes of the crash of Sriwijaya flight SJ182, and who all may be responsible, it is too soon to reach definite conclusions. We do know someone is responsible for the crash.

Many issues require further investigation, including the design of the plane by Boeing, the warnings and instructions provided or not provided by Boeing to airlines, Sriwijaya’s maintenance and repairs of the plane, the long period the plane was parked without use due to COVID-19, possible corrosion, and automatic throttle problems. The truth will be revealed, and we will prove in court who is responsible. 

Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) is investigating the accident. The preliminary report indicates the plane reached 8,150 feet (2,484 m) after take-off, and then the left engine throttle lever moved back while the right lever stayed in its original position. This caused an imbalance in engine thrust.

If pilots do not handle the unequal thrust from the engines properly by setting the power manually, a plane can bank hard to to one side or make an abrupt descent. Both happened with Sriwijaya 182.

At about 10,900 feet, the autopilot disengaged and the plane rolled to the left more than 45 degrees and started its dive, according to the report.

“We don't know if it's broken or not, but it's an anomaly because the left moved far back, the right did not as though it was stuck," KNKT investigator Nurcayho Utomo told reporters.

Maintenance logs indicate the automatic throttle malfunctioned on the plane just a few days before the fatal flight. The Flight Data Recorder (FDR) confirms the automatic throttle system failed again on the fatal flight.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the pilots “tried to get the stuck throttle to function.” Both pilots were highly experienced. The captain had 17,900 hours of flight time and the first officer had 5,100 hours.

While the FDR was recovered, the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) broke into pieces upon impact. Investigators are still searching for the memory unit of the CVR. These two recorders are often referred to as the “black boxes.” At the crash site the water is only 23 meters deep so investigators expect to locate the CVR memory unit, which will reveal cockpit conversations.

On another potential issue, the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) issued an emergency airworthiness directive for 2,000 US registered Boeing 737 NG and “Classic” airplanes on July 24, 2020. The Boeing 737-500 is a “Classic.” The FAA warned of possible corrosion of air check valves on planes parked over seven days. This damage from such corrosion can lead to double engine failure. The FAA ordered U.S. airlines flying Boeing 737 airplanes to not operate these planes if parked for seven days or more until they were inspected, and any valves found to be corroded were replaced. 

On March 23, 2020, this plane was parked due to the coronavirus pandemic. Nine months later, on December 22, 2020, it was put back into passenger service after being certified as airworthy. The circumstances surrounding the certification are being investigated.

Although the FAA directive only controls US registered airplanes, the same problems can occur with airplanes registered outside the US. Further investigation will most likely reveal whether this contributed to the crash of Sriwijaya Air Flight SJ182. 

Indonesia itself has a questionable aviation safety record. In 2007, the US Government banned Indonesia from operating in the US. This decision was not reversed until 2016 when Indonesian based airlines improved compliance with international aviation safety standards. The European Union implemented a similar ban, which was lifted in June 2018. 

Following the crash of Sriwijaya Air 182, over 10 ships, including Indonesian war ships carrying navy divers, arrived at what is believed to be the wreckage. Analysis of collected debris has begun as investigation agencies including Basarnas (the search and rescue agency), KNKT (the transportation safety body), and the National Transportation Safety Board (US aviation safety investigative agency), continue to search for answers. 

Everything will be investigated, though the investigation may take several months to a year. Evidence is being collected and will be preserved. All causes will be determined once the investigation is completed and those responsible will be held accountable. 

Herrmann Law Group reviews official investigations and we also vigorously conduct our own. 

Compensation for Victim Families

Issues of the amount of compensation are unique to each individual victim. The loss of love and affection, companionship, support and all other financial losses can amount to substantial sums of money depending upon family relationships, age of the victim, and actual and potential earnings.  Many factors go into calculating the just amount for each victim.  We prepare every aspect of a case, using experts when necessary, to maximize your just award. 

In previous cases we’ve recovered compensation frequently for several millions of dollars in wrongful death claims. Look at our record as to specific amounts we have been able to recover for victims of disaster accidents. See Our Firm Record attached to this Advice Letter.  However, we want to be clear that past results do not guarantee any amount for future recoveries for different victims in other accidents. Each case is determined on its own merits.

If Boeing is partially liable for the crash, victims’ families can sue in the United States, where juries award more compensation than in any other country in the world, certainly far more than Indonesia. 

Free Consultation with Aviation Attorneys

You need a U.S. law firm experienced in aviation law, joined with an experienced Indonesian law firm, willing to fight for your rights. Based in Seattle, Washington, the city where this Boeing 737 was built, the Herrmann Law Group has been successfully representing clients in aviation disasters for decades.

We invite all to contact us for a free, personal, and private consultation with no commitments required.

Attorney Charles Herrmann:  1.206.488.5911  charles@hlg.lawyer 

Attorney Lara Herrmann: 1.206.380.5272 lara@hlg.lawyer

Attorney Mark Lindquist:         1.206.334.2672 mark@hlg.lawyer

Attorney Zaskia Putri:                1.206.660.6939  zaskia@hlg.lawyer
Zaskia is licensed in both the USA and Indonesia. She is fluent in both languages. 

Respectfully,

Herrmann Law Group
Charles J. Herrmann
Attorney at Law