The Jakarta Post, "Component, plane makers in sights of survivors of Indonesian crash"

Relatives of the passengers injured or killed in three major air crashes involving local airlines Mandala Air, Adam Air and, most recently, Garuda Indonesia are lining up to sue the manufacturers of the ill-fated aircraft and their components for alleged product defects.

"We have filed a law suit in a U.S. court on the behalf of the families of the 75 victims of the Mandala Air accident in Medan, and 11 victims of the recent Adam Air accident," Indonesian advocate David Abraham told reporters Wednesday in Jakarta. David said that his law firm had received verbal confirmations from the relatives of two passengers who died in the recent Garuda plane crash in Yogyakarta, and from one surviving passenger, that they wanted to sue the aircraft and component manufacturers.

The Garuda plane, which was carrying 140 passengers, crashed on landing, killing 21 passengers. Meanwhile, all 102 passengers aboard an Adam Air Boeing 737-300 aircraft were killed when it plunged into the ocean off the coast of Sulawesi island in January. Regarding the Mandala Air crash in Medan on Sept. 5, 2005, which killed 147 people, Abraham said his firm was collaborating with U.S.-based law firm, Lieff Global.

With the help of Lieff Global, his company had filed a negligence lawsuit in a U.S. district court in Illinois in January against the Boeing Corporation and United Technologies. "I just found out that Boeing and United Technologies have another week to accept the lawsuit served upon them, which I think they will do ... we expect things to move very rapidly," said Brian J. Lawler from Lieff Global. Abraham added, "The lawsuit has been accepted and we expect trial to commence on April 26."