Trial begins of Indonesian airline pilot accused of negligence in crash that killed 21

The pilot of an Indonesian jetliner that crashed killing 21 people went on trial Thursday accused of negligence, a charge that carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, his lawyer said. Muhammad Assegaf, a lawyer for Capt. Marwoto Komar, claimed Indonesia had signed an international convention stating that pilots should not face criminal trial over crashes. It was not immediately possible to verify his claim, though international pilots groups have criticized the police probe into Komar. Komar was the chief pilot of a Garuda Airline 737 jet that overshot the runway at Yogyakarta airport on Java island on March 7, 2007, and then burst into flames. Five of the dead were Australians, including a journalist and government and police... [read full story]