Random chunk of wing found off the runway in Indonesia

Recently, aviation officials in Indonesia have found a 10-foot chunk of wing discarded on the side of the domestic flight runway of Jakarta’s Sukarno-Hatta International Airport. If that wasn’t disconcerting enough, consider this: They don’t know which plane it came from. Wow, sure makes an air traveller in Indonesia feel safe, eh?

Couple that with the fact that Indonesia has experienced a number of aircraft accidents in the last little while and you’ve got a questionable-at-best airline industry. In fact, Indonesia’s airline safety rating, according to the US Federal Aviation Administration, is in the lowest possible category. Why? Their maintenance record is poor, they cut corners and they have a lack of trained professionals working in the industry.

I’m not really a nervous flyer but this all sounds a bit dodgy. You might want to consider taking a ferry for domestic travel in Indonesia. Though lord only knows how safe that is …