“Our insurance team will be deployed to first calculate losses they suffered. AMA will make up their losses,” AMA director Djarot Soetanto told thejakartapost.com on Wednesday.

He said a National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) team had been deployed to the crash site to investigate the cause of the accident.

Five people crashed injured in the accident and are undergoing hospital treatment. “Four people are being treated at Wamena Regional General Hospital [RSUD] and one at Dian Harapan Hospital,  Wamena, Jayapura,” said Djarot. “All medical expenses will be covered by AMA.”

The Cessna 208 B Caravan EX crashed when it was about to land, hitting several honai in Lolat district, Yahukimo, Papua, at 7:58 a.m. local time on Tuesday.

The plane caught fire, setting the honai alight.

The five victims were passengers Arifin, 20, and Tarau, 50, and Lolat residents Yus Silak, 19, Niko Suhu, 20, and Erik Kobak, 15, who were near the honai when the plane crashed.

Djarot said the aircraft was piloted by Brian Forest Pottinger, 48, who had 8,083 flying hours behind him. He started working with AMA in August 2010. The US-manufactured Cessna was made in 2014 and had been operated by AMA since March 2016. “It had 53 flying hours only,” said Djarot. Pottinger suffered light injuries in the accident.

It is the third plane crash to have occurred in Papua this month. (ebf)

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