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JAKARTA - AN INDONESIAN pilot accused of ignoring warnings not to land before his plane burst into flames killing 21 people has been released after questioning though he remains a suspect, his lawyer reportedly said on Friday.
The Garuda Indonesia Boeing-737 carrying 140 passengers crash-landed in the central Javanese city of Yogyakarta on Mar 7 last year.
A final report into the accident issued by Indonesia's National Transport Safety Committee (KNKT) in November said that pilot Marwoto Komar ignored 15 automatic warnings not to land.
Mr Komar was detained by police for questioning as a suspect in a criminal investigation into the crash early this month but a request for him to be freed as the probe continues was accepted, lawyer Muchtar Yudhi told ElShinta radio.
Mr Yudhi said his client had argued that he would cooperate with police as the investigation pushed on.
He also argued that under international aviation rules, 'if a plane crash occurred, the pilot cannot face criminal investigation,' ElShinta said.
Indonesia's Pilots Association has also argued that the case should not be criminalised as only other members of the profession and not police had the right expertise to decide whether mistakes were made by the pilot.
Mr Komar was earlier under police surveillance while undergoing treatment for psychological problems. His pilot's licence has been suspended. -- AFP
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