January 17, 2007 Pilots Express Concerns About Safety At Indonesian Airline

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By Mary Grady, Contributing Editor

"Every time you flew, you had to fight with the ground staff and the management about all the regulations you had to violate," Feisal Banser, 30, a former captain for Adam Air, has told The Associated Press. An Adam Air 737 went missing on Jan. 1 with 102 people on board; the wreck has still not been found. In May 2005, a group of 17 pilots jointly resigned from the airline, citing alleged safety concerns, the AP said. The airline is now suing them, saying they violated their contracts and must refund money the airline spent on their training. Banser says he was grounded for a week in 2005 after he refused to fly because he had already flow five takeoffs, the daily limit. When the airline started up four years ago, pilots lined up to sign on. But within months, at least 20 left, citing safety concerns, according to the AP. "I didn't want to wait until I had lost my friends," said Banser, and added that he knew several crew members on the missing jet.