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Plane crash: Five people killed in Bintan air crash
A CASA 212 aircraft operated by Sabang Merauke Air Charter crashed in a forest in Bintan, Riau Islands, on Saturday, killing all five crew members on board
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CASA 212 aircraft operated by Sabang Merauke Air Charter crashed in a forest in Bintan, Riau Islands, on Saturday, killing all five crew members on board.
The five were identified as pilot Fadlul Karim, co-pilot Resa Bukalo and mechanics Sahrul Nasution, Sutanto and Suroto. The crew was performing a test flight when the accident occurred.
The aircraft took off from the Batam’s Hang Nadim International Airport at 1.18 p.m. and 20 minutes later lost contact with Tanjung Pinang air traffic controllers at Raja Haji Fisabilillah Airport, where it was heading to.
Bintan Police chief Adj. Snr. Comr. Yohannes Widodo said residents close to the crash site reported the accident, adding that the crew was found dead in the wreckage.
A rescue operation was conducted by search and rescue officers, the air force, army and police to evacuate the bodies.
“I am sure we can recover all the bodies by today,” Yohannes said.
Rescuers had earlier reported difficulties in the recovery efforts because the nose and the wings of the aircraft had sunk 4 meters into the swamp. Also, the fuselage had broken into three sections.
The cause of the accident has not been determined, however, the head of the flight rescue team at Hang Nadim, Elfi Amir, ruled out poor weather as a cause.
“The weather was good at the time of take off. The National Commission for Transportation Safety [KNKT] will be in Batam [on Sunday] to investigate” he said.
Aviation expert Dudi Sudibyo told The Jakarta Post that an engine problem could be a contributing factor given that the crew was performing a test flight.
He added that the engine could have suddenly experienced mechanical troubles that had not been detected during ground tests.
However, Dudi said, further information needed to be gathered.
“The engine needs to be taken apart to determine the cause,” he said, adding that the last conversation between the pilot and air traffic controllers could provide clues to the cause of the crash.
In 2010, pilot Esther Gayatri Saleh was killed when her airplane crashed while performing an aerobatic stunt during the Bandung Air Show.
Also in Bandung last year, PT Telkom employees Noto Cipto Nartomo and Panji Gunawan were reported missing when flying back to an aircraft base.
The cause of the accident has not been determined...
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Correction
Bintan air crash: In our report titled “Five people killed in Bintan air crash” on Feb. 13, 2011, we mistakenly noted that Capt. Esther G. Saleh, test pilot of state-owned aircraft company PT Dirgantara Indonesia, was killed when an airplane crashed while performing a stunt during the Bandung Air Show in 2010. The article should have said that Capt. Alexander Supelli was killed in the stunt. We apologize for the mistake.
– Editor
The Jakarta Post, 17 February 2011, page 2
