, Columnist
Despite Tragedies, Indonesia’s Air Safety Is Improving Fast
Yet the country still seems to have more than its fair share of accidents.
Another aviation tragedy in Indonesia.
Photographer: Zulkarnain/Xinhua/Getty
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In 2020, civil aviation accidents — thanks largely to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic — dropped to zero for the first time. There's a grim inevitability that the first crash to break that record should happen in Indonesia.
The loss Saturday of Sriwijaya Air Flight 182 shortly after takeoff from Jakarta is just the latest in a miserable toll of air accidents for a country that’s long been synonymous with lax aviation safety.