Families of Indonesian Plane Crash Victims Vent Anguish, Anger

Some distraught relatives of passengers and crew killed in last week’s Lion Air crash in Indonesia demanded on Monday that the airline be held responsible for the disaster.

During a meeting at a hotel in Jakarta, officials from the national search and rescue agency, the transport ministry, the police and crash investigators briefed about 100 relatives of victims on the ongoing operation and probe into the Oct. 29 crash off the West Java coast.

Hours after Monday’s meeting, investigators told reporters that the Lion Air Boeing 737 MAX 8 had problems with its airspeed indicator on its last four flights, including the day it crashed, presumably killing all 189 people on board.

But at least one of the relatives berated Lion Air and its co-founder, Rusdi Kirana, who was at the hotel meeting but did not address the relatives publicly or respond to reporters’ questions.

A man whose son, Johan Ramadhan, was among the passengers thanked those involved in the search and rescue mission, but slammed the airline’s officials.

“I don’t want to incite trouble, but I think Rusdi Kirana has failed!” said Johan’s father, Najib Furqoini, his voice mixed with anger and grief.

Transport Minister Budi Karya Sumadi moderated the meeting while Rusdi stood next to him. Rusdi bowed his head after angry family members demanded that he identify himself. He immediately left after the meeting.