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ASIA-PACIFIC 
Garuda crash pilot to face trial
Monday, 21 July, 2008
A former Garuda pilot will face court this week over a plane crash that killed 21 people, including five Australians.
Captain Marwoto Komar, 46, will be the first pilot to face criminal charges over a plane crash in Indonesia, which has a dismal aviation safety record.
His trial - on charges of negligence - will begin in Slemen District Court in Yogyakarta, central Java, on Thursday, a court official told AAP.
Five judges will hear the case.
Yogyakarta police last month formally handed their 200-page case file to prosecutors.
Five Australians involved in a visit by then foreign minister Alexander Downer were among those killed when the Boeing 737 jet overshot the runway after landing too fast, and burst into flames in a nearby field at Yogyakarta on March 7, last year.
A final report by safety regulators said the pilot was so "fixated" with landing that he ignored 15 alarms and the pleas of his co-pilot, warning he was coming in too fast.
Marwoto's arrest in February shocked Indonesia's aviation community and sparked protests outside parliament, demanding his release.
Source: AAP
