A Garuda pilot has been formally charged with deliberately causing a passenger plane to crash in Indonesia, killing 21 people including five Australians.
Captain Marwoto Komar was charged today at the opening of his trial at Yogyakarta in central Java, where the 21 victims lost their lives on March 7 last year.
The 46-year-old fronted court in his pilot's uniform, despite resigning from Garuda after the airline gave him an ultimatum following the crash.
A copy of an indictment says Komar ignored 15 alarms to abort the landing of the Boeing 737 at Yogyakarta's Adi Sucipto Airport.
It says co-pilot Gagam Samam Rohmana had calculated the plane should land at a speed of 140 knots .. but when the aircraft hit the runway it was doing 240 knots.
And it says Komar also ignored Rohmana's pleas not to proceed with the landing.
Komar's lawyer Mohammad Assegaf says his client has already paid a heavy price for the crash, including the loss of his pilot's licence and job.
The case is expected to run for several months.
