TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Transportation Minister Budi Karya Sumadi said that his ministry has completed a special audit on PT Lion Mentari Airlines, the company that operates low-cost carrier Lion Air. According to Minister Budi, the review was related to improvement on standard operation procedure (SOP) and human resources quality.

"We have sent the recommendation regarding those improvements to Lion Air," said Budi on Thursday, November 22, 2018, during the sideline of a meeting with the House of Representatives (DPR) at the Parliament Complex in Senayan, South Jakarta.

The special audit was carried out following the tragic crash of Lion Air Flight JT610 serving the Jakarta-Pangkalpinang route. The aircraft plummetted into the waters of Tanjung Karawang, West Java on Monday morning, October 29, 2018.

A total of 189 passengers including the pilot, co-pilot, and cabin crews were dead. As many as 109 victims had been identified by the police.

Budi explained the audit result was also sent to the National Transportation Safety Commission (KNKT), an institution that helped to investigate the cause of the crash.

Meanwhile, Head of the Soerjanto KNKT Tjahjono, said that the KNKT will announce the result of the investigation into the crash at the end of November 2018. According to him, preliminary results must be released one month after the incident, in accordance with prevailing regulations.

DIAS PRASONGKO