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mechanic was killed and five others were injured in a plane crash at the Ninia Airport, Yahukimo regency, Papua, on Wednesday, adding to the number of aircraft accidents in the country'€™s easternmost province in recent years.

The PAC 750 XL plane, owned by PT Komala Air, was traveling from Wamena Airport in Jayawijaya regency at 7:43 a.m. to the Ninia Airport. The plane was scheduled to land at 8:05 a.m. but crashed as it arrived late at 8:45 a.m.

Jayapura Search and Rescue Agency head Ludianto said the plane, piloted by Herman Iyuno, carried four passengers and two crew members.

'€œThe pilot may still be new and was unfamiliar with the small airport located in a mountainous region,'€ Ludianto told The Jakarta Post, adding that PT Komala Air is based in Wamena and had only recently started operating in Papua.

He said that the plane was chartered by civil servants from the Yahukimo regency administration who were on a working trip to the Ninia district.

'€œIt should have landed 22 minutes after taking off, but due to strong wind the plane circled for around 40 minutes before landing,'€ he added.

As the plane landed, it veered to the left of the runway and hit a tree along the runway. '€œWe are waiting for National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) investigators to discover the cause of the accident,'€ said Ludianto.

However, Yakuhimo police precinct chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Ade Jaja told Antara news agency that the incident was caused by engine failure.

The six victims were airlifted by a Helivida helicopter, owned by missionaries, to the Wamena general hospital in Jayawijaya.

Pilot Herman underwent surgery at the hospital for serious head injuries, two other injured victims, Yali Pahabol and Adam, were also treated at the hospital, while the body of technician Eko Wijayanto was taken to the hospital morgue.

Two other injured victims, La Ode Sahimu and Yakyat Leobak, were airlifted by an Air Nusantara plane to the Dian Harapan Hospital in Wamena, Jayapura.

La Ode Sahimu, who met journalists at the Dian Harapan Hospital, suffered fractures to his right hand and right leg.

'€œThe plane tried to land but pulled up and circled in the air, then tried to land for the second time but hit a tree,'€ he said.

The crash added to the number of plane deadly accidents in Papua.

On April 9, last year, a US-manufactured Kodiak plane carrying seven people crashed during takeoff at Advent airport, in Doyo, Sentani, in Jayapura regency, Papua.

US pilot Robert Franklin, 63, and a male passenger identified as Danis Kobak, 34, died in the crash. The plane, which was used for missionary work, was scheduled to fly to Ninia in Yahukimo regency.

In December 2011, a pilot and passenger were killed when their plane overshot and burst into flames at Okbibab airstrip, Pegunungan Bintang regency in Papua.

The PAC P-750 XSTOL aircraft, registration PK-RCD, operated by Association Mission Aviation (AMA), was flying from Sentani Airport in Jayapura to Okbibab and was carrying four passengers.

Upon landing the plane skidded for up to 1 kilometer and plunged into a ravine on the left side of the runway before bursting into flames.

In the same year, in November, a Spanish co-pilot, Albert Citores Gallego, working with Susi Air died in an airplane crash in Nabire, Papua. The Twin Otter passenger aircraft belonging to Susi Air was a cargo plane, whose only passengers were its two foreign pilots.