Merpati told to ground ATP planes<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The government has ordered Merpati Nusantara
\nairlines to ground its remaining fleet of British-made Advanced
\nTurbo Prop (ATP) aircraft after one of the planes crashed
\nSaturday in South Sumatra, killing 15 people and injuring 31.<\/p>\n
Seven people walked away from the crash unscathed, antara said
\nyesterday.<\/p>\n
Director General of Air Transportation Zainuddin Sikado
\nannounced the ban Saturday.<\/p>\n
The cause of the crash is unknown and a lengthy investigation
\nis predicted.<\/p>\n
"I have heard the recording of the last conversation (between
\npilot Bartholomeus Suwardi and the airport tower) and there was
\nno trouble. Four minutes afterwards, the plane fell and was
\nablaze 10 minutes later," Sikado was quoted by Kompas as saying.<\/p>\n
"For the time being, the government has decided that all ATP
\naircraft will be grounded until there is further information on
\nthem (their airworthiness)," Sikado said.<\/p>\n
Produced by British Aerospace, the ATP aircraft have been
\nimproved and modified here. The aircraft replaced the turboprop
\nHawker Siddeley which the company acquired in the 1960s.<\/p>\n
Before the crash, Merpati had five ATP planes, which it
\nreceived brand new in mid-1992.<\/p>\n
Merpati, a subsidiary of national flag carrier Garuda
\nIndonesia, used the ATP planes as bridging aircraft before the
\ndelivery of N250 airplanes which are being manufactured by state-
\nowned PT Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara.<\/p>\n
The 68-seat planes serve shuttle routes between Jakarta and
\nSemarang in Central Java, Surabaya in East Java and Palembang,
\nPangkal Pinang and Bengkulu in Sumatra.<\/p>\n
The Directorate of Certification on Air Transport Safety and
\nMerpati continued investigating the cause of the crash yesterday.<\/p>\n
Merpati's spokesman, Tondo Widodo, told The Jakarta Post that
\nthe black box data recorder from the plane would be sent to
\nAustralia for analysis, and results were due in about three
\nmonths.<\/p>\n
The plane with flight number MZ-106 crashed on Belitung
\nIsland, off South Sumatra.<\/p>\n
Tondo confirmed that 53 people, including a crew of five, were
\non board. Two children and two babies were among the passengers.<\/p>\n
Three of the crew had died and two were injured. Twelve
\npassengers had died, he said.<\/p>\n
The bodies of eleven victims were flown home to their tearful
\nrelatives in Jakarta yesterday. The other four bodies were sent
\nto Tanjung Pandan in Belitung.<\/p>\n
At the Soekarno-Hatta airport, hundreds of relatives of the
\nvictims waited for four hours before they could claim the bodies
\nfor burial.<\/p>\n
Those who died were M. Zein, Warsono, Ipah, Nurasmah, Sawil,
\nFatimah, Tjoajong, Wongyan, Hendra Tabah, Hadi Ayung, Ramli,
\nSudaryati, pilot Bartholomeus Suwardi, copilot Imantuhu A.F.
\nSoesmono and stewardess Kramatiningsih.<\/p>\n
Survivors<\/p>\n
The injured passengers have been transferred from Belitung
\nHospital to Pelni Hospital in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Among those admitted at Pelni yesterday were stewardess Genduk
\nSri Rudati, 23, on board mechanic Agus Supriyadi, 28, and 10
\npassengers.<\/p>\n
Genduk's father, Suwono, and Agus' mother kept vigil beside
\ntheir children at the hospital.<\/p>\n
Chotib, a passenger, said he fell with part of the aircraft
\nand landed among some palm trees. The aircraft split in three in
\nmid-air.<\/p>\n
"Just before landing, the plane's engine suddenly died. We
\ncouldn't do much. Then, I don't remember what happened," Chotib
\nwas quoted by Antara as saying.<\/p>\n
Chotib, who works for the Ministry of Cooperatives, was
\nscheduled for surgery today for a broken hip, left leg and right
\nthigh. His wife of 14 years, Nurjanah, and four children also
\nkept a bedside vigil yesterday.<\/p>\n
Suhaimi, another passenger, said the plane glided without
\npower just before it crashed.<\/p>\n
Harry, a friend of Kramatiningsih, said that the 20-year-old
\nstewardess' body had been sent to her hometown of Balikpapan,
\nEast Kalimantan.<\/p>\n
He said her father and other relatives had collected her
\npersonal effects at her boarding house in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
On March 1, she was promoted to a full-time stewardess at
\nMerpati. Her first flight since the promotion was her last.<\/p>\n
Harry described her as shy, private but friendly.<\/p>\n
Kramatiningsih had lived at the boarding house for only four
\nmonths. Before that she had lived in Kemayoran while training to
\nbe a stewardess, he said.<\/p>\n
He said she was close to her family and was the fifth of six
\nchildren. One of her brothers had visited her the week before she
\ndied. (01)<\/p>",
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