'Suicide pilot' took 104 to their deaths

Fourteen months after the crash, international observers close to the investigation have confirmed that suicide by Captain Tsu Ming Way is the sole cause for the tragedy, according to the industry magazine Aviation Week & Space Technology.

Suicide by Captain Tsu has been suspected for more than 12 months. The final link in proving it was the re-construction of the Boeing 737's descent profile after the cockpit voice recorder and digital flight data recorder stopped operating, the magazine says.

According to the observers, the results of the simulator trials conducted from the Indonesian radar plots from the aircraft's transponder have confirmed that only deliberate action could have resulted in the descent profile recorded.

Simulator flights have been conducted by Indonesian, Singaporean and Boeing test pilots in facilities in three countries with identical results.

Safety experts point out that if both pilots were unconscious the aircraft would not fly straight down at full speed. It would tumble and wallow, with the nose repeatedly pitching up and down.

The aircraft's transponder worked until the aircraft reached 19,000 feet.

"The descent profile is that of deliberate action. There is no doubt about it," one of the observers was reported as saying.

Professor Oetarjo Diran, who was in charge of the investigation, has been unavailable to reply to requests for confirmation of the simulation trials.

Frustrated relatives of crash victims are rejecting a new round of compensation awards as they fight rules in Indonesia and Singapore to find out the official cause of the crash.

The airline has offered up to $140,000 per passenger, but this has been rejected by most relatives, who say they are more interested in knowing what happened than in financial compensation.

"Only the truth of the cause of the crash will help us emotionally," said Mr David Beevers, a Singaporean resident who lost his wife in the crash.

Professor Diran said Singapore's privacy laws had frustrated efforts to examine Captain Tsu's financial records.

Investigators want to know if Captain Tsu's financial situation might have prompted suicide. Professor Diran said he would have to obtain a court order to gain access to the pilot's financial records.

Relatives of victims have expressed dismay at the secrecy surrounding the case and fear a cover-up.

The insurance policy taken out by Captain Tsu just before the accident is yet to be confirmed. The Indonesians also refuse to confirm the results of the simulator trials.