Governor, VIPs survive chopper crash<\/p>\n
Yemris Fointuna, The Jakarta Post, Kupang<\/p>\n
An Army helicopter carrying a number of top local officials
\ncrashed in Maluku province on Tuesday, after its tail hit a
\nbuilding during takeoff, the military said.<\/p>\n
Although several crew members and passengers suffered minor
\ninjuries and the aircraft's tail and rotor were badly damaged,
\neveryone on board the Bell 412 chopper survived the accident.<\/p>\n
The helicopter went down on Wetar island in West Southeast
\nMaluku regency at about 11:45 a.m. local time, around five
\nminutes after taking off from the Iwoki soccer field, said
\nspokesman for the Wirasakti Military Command in Kupang, East Nusa
\nTenggara, Capt. Kuwat.<\/p>\n
He said that as the chopper was hovering about 15 meters above
\nthe ground, it was hit by a strong wind and the pilot decided to
\nmake an emergency landing.<\/p>\n
But, it later hit a house and plummeted, Kuwat added.<\/p>\n
Aboard the ill-fated chopper operated by the Udayana Military
\nCommand were Maluku Governor Karel Alber Ralahalu, Patimura
\nMilitary commander Maj. Gen. Syarifuddin and Maluku Police chief
\nBrig. Gen. Aditya Warman.<\/p>\n
Other passengers were the Maluku naval base commander,
\nMaluku's chief prosecutor, the regent of West Southeast Maluku
\nand a businessman.<\/p>\n
The aircraft crew members were pilot Major Lisman, co-pilot
\nFirst Lt. Yudi M. Dili, mechanics First Sgt. Mustajab and
\navionics engineer Second Sgt. Dwi Yulianto.<\/p>\n
The governor and his entourage were traveling back from an
\nofficial trip to Kupang, where they discussed measures with East
\nNusa Tenggara Governor Piet A. Tallo on Monday to fight illegal
\nlogging and timber smuggling to neighboring East Timor.<\/p>\n
The group was using the helicopter to observe firsthand sea
\nroutes used by timber smugglers from several islands in West
\nSoutheast Maluku.<\/p>\n
The crash was the latest in a series of military chopper
\naccidents over the past few months, which were mostly blamed on
\nbad weather.<\/p>\n
On Dec. 25, 2004, Indonesia Military (TNI) Commander Gen.
\nEndriartono Sutarto ordered that all TNI helicopters be
\ntemporarily grounded the day after a helicopter crash in
\nWonosobo, Central Java, in which 14 Air Force personnel were
\nkilled.<\/p>\n
On Dec. 24, a Navy helicopter plummeted into a river in
\nNabire, Papua, killing five. In October, eight military personnel
\nwere killed when an Army Bell 205 helicopter crashed in Bireuen,
\nAceh.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/governor-vips-survive-chopper-crash-1447893297",
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