(Reuters) - Indonesia's transport safety authority recommended that Lion Air address safety issues in pilot training in a preliminary report into last month's crash of a new Boeing 737-800 into the sea off Bali, without identifying an exact cause.
The report shows that the 24-year-old second-in-command, who had 1,200 hours of flying experience, was in control during the descent into the airport and reported that he could not see the runway 900 feet above ground, the National Transportation Safety Committee said in a report released late on Tuesday.
Weather reports indicated that there was a sudden loss of visibility in the area, it said.
The captain then switched off the auto-pilot and the second-in-command handed over controls to him at 150 feet, or 1 minute, 6 seconds before the crash, after repeating that he could not see the runway. One second before the crash, the pilot commanded a "go-around" and attempted to abort the landing, but it was too late.
Lion Air could not be reached for comment.
The NTSC said it expected to release its final report within the next 12 months.
The NTSC said that its immediate safety recommendations included that Lion emphasise to pilots the importance of complying with the descent minimum when on an instrument approach procedure when the pilot cannot see the runway at the minimum altitude. It also recommended that the airline review the policy and procedure for changing over control from one pilot to another at critical altitudes or times.
All 108 passengers and crew survived with the Lion Air Boeing Co 737 missed the runway and landed in the sea on April 13.
A person familiar with the matter told Reuters last month that the pilot had described how he felt the 737-800 passenger jet being "dragged" down by wind while he struggled to regain control.
(Reporting by Siva Govindasamy and Janeman Latul; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)
