A Merpati airliner headed for Surabaya failed to take off from Husein Sastranegara Airport in Bandung, West Java, due to a faulty flap on its left wing.
The crew of the Boeing 737-300 jetliner with flight number MZ616 and carrying 123 passengers decided to abort takeoff when the plane was gathering speed on the runway, and returned to the apron.
Passenger Muhamad Hendrasto, 50, said the flight had been delayed for 25 minutes from its 6:05 a.m. departure. Passengers were allowed to board the plane at 6:30.
Merpati authorities said the delay was due to fog around Bandung. A day earlier, an Air Asia flight from Bandung to Kuala Lumpur was also delayed because of thick fog.
"I heard a sound like the plane was about to take off several times before it finally returned to the apron," said Hendrasto, headed to Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, for a meeting with 44 other officials from the Bandung Vulcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation Center.
"A flight attendant later announced the plane was experiencing technical problems."
Another passenger, Fitruski, 32, said the plane speeded along the runway for a short time before it returned to the apron.
"We were confused about why it hadn't taken off and instead returned to the apron. Our bags were also unloaded as we waited for around an hour," Fitruski said.
Several passengers became annoyed, with some arguing with ticketing officers because they had been made to wait for three hours without any word on when the flight would depart.
All passengers were provided with breakfast by the airline at around 9 a.m. as compensation for the delay.
Operational head of the Angkasa Pura II airport administration at Husein Sastranegara Airport, Soetrisno, said Merpati Airlines had decided to cancel the flight at around 10:56 a.m. because it had failed to fix the flap.
Some passengers were later transferred to a Sriwijaya Air flight to Surabaya.
"This is related to flight safety, because a problem with the plane can endanger people's lives, so why should we force ourselves to fly?" Soetrisno said.
Passengers who failed to get another flight were reimbursed by the airline.
Merpati Airlines district manager for Bandung, Risman Azwar, said the plane had only encountered a problem with the wing flap and not the engine.
Merpati Airlines technicians are currently repairing the plane, which is expected to be fixed in time to serve flights normally again on Friday.
"We are working together with other airlines to carry passengers who still wish to proceed with their journey on Wednesday," Risman said.
Forty-four passengers headed for Mataram were transferred to a Garuda flight from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport outside Jakarta. They were shuttled by buses provided by Merpati.
Soetrisno said the aborted takeoff was the first such incident to occur at Husein Sastranegara Airport this year.
Airport operations were not disrupted by the incident, he added.
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