Wreckage of missing Cessna plane found on Mt. Ciremai

The wreckage of the Cessna C172-PK NIP training plane belonging to flying school PT Nusa Flying International, which went missing on a Jakarta-Cirebon flight on Nov. 11, was found on Monday on the western slope of Mt. Ciremai in Argapura district, Majalengka regency, West Java.

“The wreckage was discovered on Monday morning by local residents who volunteered to search for the missing plane,” Cirebon chapter of the National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) coordinator Suyatno told The Jakarta Post.

The discovered wreckage consisted of the plane’s wings and a dynamo. “We’ve informed the company that owns the plane and they said there were similarities,” Suyatno said.

Regarding the fate of the three crew members, he said that he did not yet have any confirmation. “Whether they are alive or dead is not known yet. We are waiting for further information,” he said.

According to Suyatno, Basarnas planned to carry out an evacuation process later on Monday evening if the weather allowed. “From noon until this evening, the weather has been bad, so the evacuation plan was postponed. As soon as the conditions improve, we will carry out the evacuation,” he said.

For the evacuation, Basarnas will deploy 20 skilled personnel and 100 volunteers from various parties including the Indonesian Military (TNI), National Police, state forestry company Perhutani, environmental activists and local residents.

As reported earlier, the plane lost contact in Cirebon air at 8:53 a.m. on Nov. 11. The plane took off at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in Jakarta at 7:33 a.m.