Indonesia orders audit of Lion Air's repair unit after crash

Indonesia ordered Lion Air to fire its technical director and started an audit of the carrier’s maintenance facility after one of its aircraft crashed in the Java Sea off Jakarta, taking down 189 passengers and crew. The airline also dismissed an engineer who cleared the ill-fated flight JT610 even after the pilots had reported technical issues with the aircraft during a trip a day before the crash. The removals were ordered on the recommendations from the NTSB, the Transport Ministry said Wednesday. The govt will impose “strict sanctions” on Lion Air if a probe by the safety board proves negligence on the part of the airline, the ministry said. A special inspection of the Boeing 737 Max 8 planes ordered by Indonesia after the crash showed no technical issues with the jets operated by Lion Air and PT Garuda. <br/>