Indonesia's Ministry of Transportation launched the inspections on Thursday, saying it will last for six months and target a total of 75 A320 aircraft operated by four airlines registered in Jakarta.
Suprasetyo, the ministry's director general for air transportation, says the four airlines are Indonesia AirAsia, Indonesia AirAsia Extra, Citilink and Batik Air.
The first two are separate local units of Malaysia's AirAsia Group, Asia's largest budget carrier. Citilink is the low-cost unit of Indonesia's national flag carrier, Garuda Indonesia, while Batik Air is the premium division of the country's largest low-cost carrier, Lion Air.
"Any A320 aircraft found to have experienced repetitive problems will be temporarily grounded," Suprasetyo told a press briefing on Thursday.
Investigators from Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee, or KNKT, on Tuesday announced that the AirAsia plane crash in the Java Sea on Dec. 28, 2014, which killed all 162 people on board, was partly caused by repetitive failures of the plane's rudder travel limiter unit, or RLTU, which helps control rudder movement.
Analysis of the flight data recorder retrieved from the sea showed that the RLTU failed four times since the plane took off from Surabaya, East Java at 5.35 a.m., en route to Singapore.
Investigators said RLTU failures were supposed to be a minor issue.
But the pilot's and co-pilot's mishandling of the problem, coupled with "ineffective communications" between them, put the aircraft in an "upset" situation -- during which it nose dived sharply from a height of 32,000 to 38,000 feet, before stalling in midair and crashing into the sea.
Investigators attributed the crew's mishandling of the situation to a lack of upset recovery training. They said AirAsia did not make the training mandatory because Airbus' manual for the A320 said it was not required.
Airbus earlier said in an emailed statement to the Nikkei Asian Review that the manufacturer had received the final accident report from the Indonesian authorities and was carefully studying its content.
Muhammad Alwi, director for airworthiness and aircraft operations at the transport ministry, said inspectors would check "all systems of the planes", but with a special focus on RTLUs.
Aside from inspecting the condition of the planes, Indonesia's transportation ministry will also make upset recovery training mandatory for all airlines registered in the country.
"We will increase the frequency of flight trainings, especially on upset recovery, from once for every 12 months to once for every six months," Suprasetyo added.
Furthermore, pilots in command will soon be obliged to report every problem they experience during flight upon landing.
This is because KNKT investigators also found that the AirAsia aircraft had experienced a total of 23 RLTU problems in the year leading up the crash. Information regarding the past glitches apparently had not reached the maintenance team before the plane was permitted to fly.
"We're currently outlining a safety circular that will detail procedures to integrate reports of mechanical problems [experienced after every flight], manually and or electronically," Suprasetyo said.
The ongoing inspections and the upcoming new regulations will only apply on Airbus A320 registered in Indonesia.
For A320 aircraft flying in Indonesia's airspace that are registered in other countries, the Indonesian aviation authority will issue recommendations to its foreign counterparts to implement similar moves.
The Airbus A320 are commonly used for short- to medium-range flights. They are popular among many Southeast Asian airlines serving the region.
AirAsia Group operates a total of 160 A320s, including Indonesia AirAsia's 29 planes. The Philippines' Cebu Pacific Air just took delivery of its 33rd A320 in October. Singapore's Tiger Air operates 22 A320s.
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