INTRODUCTION

The crash of Singapore-bound Air Asia flight QZ 8501 in the closing days of 2014 will further add to Indonesia’s dubious aviation safety record and undoubtedly negatively impact its low cost carrier aviation companies. According to the Aviation Safety Network, between 1945 and 2014 there were 127 fatal air transport accidents in Indonesia resulting in 2576 casualties. The period between 2007 to 2009 was a particularly bad time for the national aviation industry. During this time, on average there were 11 aviation accidents every year equating to nearly one accident a month.[1] To start with, on January 1^st, 2007, Adam Air flight DHI 574 crashed into the Makassar Strait resulting to 102 fatalities. In the same year, the European Union banned all Indonesian airlines, including Garuda Indonesia, from flying in its airspace due to safety reasons although the ban was later lifted in 2009.[2]