The deadliest crash of a Boeing 737-400, killing all 102 aboard and triggering sweeping aviation safety reforms across Indonesia.
Key Facts
- Date
- 1 January 2007
- Fatalities
- 102 people
- Aircraft type
- Boeing 737-400
- Crash site
- Makassar Strait, near Polewali, Sulawesi
- Final report released
- 25 March 2008
- Airline shutdown
- March 2008 (ban), June 2008 (bankruptcy)
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The pilots became preoccupied with troubleshooting a malfunctioning inertial navigation system during the flight, causing them to inadvertently disconnect the autopilot. Distracted from flying the aircraft, they lost situational awareness and were unable to recover control before the aircraft entered an unrecoverable descent.
On 1 January 2007, Adam Air Flight 574, a Boeing 737-400 operating a domestic route between Jakarta, Surabaya, and Manado, crashed into the Makassar Strait near Polewali in Sulawesi. All 102 people on board perished, making it the deadliest accident in the history of the 737-400 variant.
The crash prompted the Indonesian government to launch a national safety investigation and, combined with other incidents, led the United States to downgrade its safety rating of Indonesian aviation. All Indonesian airlines were banned from European Union airspace for several years. Adam Air was banned from operating in March 2008 and declared bankruptcy in June 2008, with Indonesia subsequently undertaking large-scale transportation safety reforms.