Jakarta - The National Committee for Transportation Safety (KNKT) has set itself the target of gaining the technical ability to read the data contained in aircraft black boxes this year, a spokesman said.

"This is to keep up with the national airline industry's growth," KNKT Chairman  Tatang Kurniadi said here on Thursday.

He said if Indonesia had already mastered the ability, whenever there was an air accident, the black box of the ill-fated plane would no longer need to be sent to other countries such as Singapore, Australia or the United States for analysis.

"This will also be an entry point for Indonesia in the international world," he added.

To achieve the goal,  he added, the committee has sent one of its investigators to Australia to learn how to read information in  black boxes.

"Another four investigators will also be sent to Australia for the same purpose. And thus, by the end of this year, they will  be able to take  action," he added.

He said the committee would also send two of its investigators to study for a year at the Australian Transport Safety Board (ATSB).

All the activities, he added, were supported by an Australian government grant  worth US$24 million to improve the capability and capacity of the regulators and investigators in Indonesia.

"Part of the assistance, some US$5 million, is intended  for KNKT," he added.

He, however, did not give detail on the amount of the Indonesian contribution to prepare the infrastructure and facility to read the black box.

- Source : Antara News Agency, 16 May 2008