1997Dec, 19
SilkAir Flight 185 crashes into the Musi River, near Palembang in Indonesia, killing 104.
SilkAir Flight 185 was a scheduled international passenger flight operated by a Boeing 737-300 from Soekarno–Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, Indonesia to Changi Airport in Singapore that crashed into the Musi River near Palembang, Sumatra, on 19 December 1997, killing all 97 passengers and seven crew on board.The cause of the crash was independently investigated by two agencies in two countries: the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC). The NTSB, which had jurisdiction based on Boeing's manufacture of the aircraft in the U.S., investigated the crash under lead investigator Greg Feith. Its investigation concluded that the crash was the result of deliberate flight-control inputs "most likely by the captain". While the Indonesian NTSC investigators found "no concrete evidence" to support the pilot suicide allegation, and the previously suspected Parker-Hannifin hydraulic power control unit (PCU) had already been determined by the manufacturer to be defect-free, the final statement from the NTSC was that they were unable to determine a cause of the crash and thus inconclusive.
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Events on 1997
- 19Jan
Hebron
Yasser Arafat returns to Hebron after more than 30 years and joins celebrations over the handover of the last Israeli-controlled West Bank city. - 21Jan
Newt Gingrich
The U.S. House of Representatives votes 395-28 to reprimand Newt Gingrich for ethics violations, making him the first Speaker of the House to be so disciplined. - 5Feb
The Holocaust
The so-called Big Three banks in Switzerland announce the creation of a $71 million fund to aid Holocaust survivors and their families. - 2Jun
Oklahoma City bombing
In Denver, Timothy McVeigh is convicted on 15 counts of murder and conspiracy for his role in the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, in which 168 people died. He was executed four years later. - 1Jul
Tony Blair
China resumes sovereignty over the city-state of Hong Kong, ending 156 years of British colonial rule. The handover ceremony is attended by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Prince Charles of Wales, Chinese President Jiang Zemin, and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.