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Airplane hits cow on runway in Merauke
An airplane transporting 141 passengers hit a cow Monday upon landing at the Mopah airport in Merauke, Papua
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An airplane transporting 141 passengers hit a cow Monday upon landing at the Mopah airport in Merauke, Papua.
The incident took place at 8:46 a.m. (local time) after a cow ran across the runway when the Merpati Nusantara Airlines' Boeing 737 plane was landing.
Around 10 minutes before landing, tower officers reported to the pilot that the runway was clear. When the plane was about to land, however, the cow suddenly ran toward the incoming plane.
The cow was hit by the plane's left engine, killing the cow and damaging the engine.
"There were no casualties in the accident," head of Mopah airport Herson said.
"A calf ran very quickly from Jati village on the eastern side of the airport and the airplane couldn't avoid it," Herson said, adding that the airport was not fully fenced off.
Out of the 7,000-meter boundary, only some 1,500 meters have been fenced, he said.
Airport safety across Indonesia has come under the spotlight following a string of deadly air accidents in past years.
Herson said his office had proposed a program to install fences since 2005, but had not had any response from authorities yet.
