VZCZCXYZ0005
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHJA #0251/01 0310450
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 310450Z JAN 07
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3043
INFO RUEHGP/AMEMBASSY SINGAPORE IMMEDIATE 5691
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI IMMEDIATE
RULSDMK/DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEANHA/FAA NATIONAL HQ WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUENAAA/SECNAV WASHDC IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS JAKARTA 000251 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR CA/OCS/ACS/EAP, EAP/MTS, EB/TRA 
DEPT TRANSPORTATION FOR NTSB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAIR ASEC CASC ID
SUBJECT: GOI PRIORITIZES RECOVERY OF ADAM AIR BLACK BOXES 
 
REF: JAKARTA 108 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  Minister of Transportation Hatta Rajasa 
thanked the Ambassador and members of the USS Mary Sears 
search team for U.S. assistance in locating the wreckage of 
Adam Air Flight KI-574 on the floor of the Suluwesi Straits. 
Hatta said that the GOI's priority in terms of next steps is 
to recover the aircraft's black boxes.  He asked for 
continued U.S. technical assistance to support these efforts, 
but suggested that the GOI and Adam Air would work out a way 
to share the cost of the operation.  Earlier in the day, the 
Ambassador and the search team also briefed Indonesia 
Military (TNI) Joint Chief of Staff (Panglima) Air Vice 
Marshal Djoko Suyanto on the same topic.  End Summary. 
 
Recovering Black Boxes Top GOI Priority 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) On January 30, the Ambassador and the USS Mary Sears 
search team briefed Minister of Transportation Hatta Rajasa 
on the successful U.S. Navy search for the wreckage and black 
boxes of missing Adam Air Flight KI-574.  The team consisted 
of LCDR Charles Ehnes, Logistics Group, Western Pacific; U.S. 
Naval Oceanographic Singapore Office Director Thomas Cuff, 
and U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command Supervisor of Salvage Rick 
Thiel.  Using sonar and computer generated charts, the team 
showed the Minister the location of two flight data recorders 
in approximately 2000 meters of water on the smooth, silted 
floor of the Suluwesi Straits.  One flight recorders is 
apparently co-located with a piece of debris roughly one by 
five meters; the other is situated within a larger debris 
field several nautical miles away.  They emphasized that 
Government of Indonesia (GOI) radar and water current data, 
as well as reports from locals in Suluwesi, had been critical 
to the success in locating the wreckage.  The Ambassador 
explained that the search had taken some 20 days and cost the 
U.S. Government roughly US$ 2 million. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Hatta expressed gratitude for U.S. assistance in 
locating the aircraft wreckage.  He said that the finding of 
only small pieces of debris was important information, as 
many families of the victims still believed the plane was 
largely intact on the bottom of the sea and that the wreckage 
and remains of victims could still be recovered.  He 
explained that recovery of the two black boxes was now the 
GOI's highest priority in terms of next steps, and he asked 
whether it was feasible and how much it would cost. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The Ambassador and the search team noted that a 
number of private companies have the capacity to undertake 
deep water recovery operations.  Their services would cost 
roughly $50,000 per day, with the total cost for recovering 
the black boxes likely to reach $1-3 million.  Thiel 
estimated that it would likely take up to 10 days to recover 
the flight data recorders, but much would depend on whether 
their pingers were still active and if they were buried in 
debris.  He added that with the pingers still active, a 
submersible remotely operated vehicle (ROV) could easily hone 
in on the exact locations of the flight data recorders. 
 
No Request for USG Financial Assistance 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Hatta appeared to grasp the advantages of starting 
the recovery soon, and asked for continued U.S. assistance in 
the recovery operation, though he did not ask for U.S. 
financial assistance.  Instead, he suggested that the GOI and 
Adam Air would discuss sharing the costs of the operation. 
Ambassador Pascoe said that National Transportation Safety 
Board investigators would remain available to further assist 
in the recovery and analysis of the black boxes, and that 
Thiel, Cuff and Ehnes would remain available to provide 
technical advice on the recovery operations.  The three are 
scheduled to meet the Indonesian National Transportation 
Safety Committee (NTSC) on January 31 to provide additional 
information on deep water recovery operations. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Following the meeting, the Minister and the 
Ambassador met with members of the local press to give a 
brief description of the search for the Adam Air wreckage and 
the future steps.  Both made it clear that decisions on the 
next steps and responsibility for the recovery of any parts 
of the wreckage were in the hands of the GOI. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Earlier in the day, the Ambassador and the search 
team also briefed Indonesia Military (TNI) Joint Chief of 
Staff (Panglima) Air Vice Marshal Djoko Suyanto.  He too 
expressed gratitude for U.S. assistance and cooperation with 
the TNI in the search for the wreckage, and indicated that 
the GOI would focus on recovering the flight data recorders 
from the crash. 
PASCOE