Special team to probe helicopter crash<\/p>\n
SURABAYA (JP): Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Achmad Sutjipto
\ndismissed on Tuesday speculation that sabotage was behind a Navy
\nhelicopter crash which killed all five people on board on Monday.<\/p>\n
Speaking on the sidelines of the ceremony to overseeing the
\nremoval of the bodies of the five crew members at Juanda Naval
\nAirport here, Sutjipto said the state aircraft company IPTN-made
\nBO-105 helicopter was airworthy before the fatal accident.<\/p>\n
All the dead were members of Squadron 400.<\/p>\n
Sutjipto said a special team would be set up to find out what
\nhad happened to the helicopter.<\/p>\n
The helicopter crashed at 3:30 p.m. on Monday in a tobacco
\nplantation in the village of Deru in Bojonegoro, some 110
\nkilometers west of Surabaya, according to Sutjipto.<\/p>\n
The casualties were identified as pilot Second Lt. Daniel Fery
\nSandy, copilot Second Lt. Asep Bambang Nurandani, Second Sgt. Dwi
\nPurwanto and Second Sgt. Priyanto. The only woman killed in the
\ncrash was Ika, who was Daniel's cousin.<\/p>\n
All the bodies were flown on Tuesday to their respective
\nhometowns: Daniel to Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, Asep to
\nTasikmalaya, West Java, Dwi to Nganjuk, East Java, Priyanto to
\nBogor, West Java, and Ika to Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Engine trouble, especially abnormal fuel pressure, was assumed
\nto be the cause of the fatal crash.<\/p>\n
First. Lt. Priyantoro, who is also from Squadron 400, said
\nthat the ill-fated helicopter had refueled in Semarang before
\npilot Daniel was forced to make an emergency landing in the
\ndistrict of Padangan, Bojonegoro. Engine trouble was blamed for
\nthe unscheduled landing.<\/p>\n
The squadron in Surabaya sent another helicopter soon after
\nreceiving reports about the emergency landing, Priyantoro said,
\nadding that the pilot was Capt. Nyoman. Priyantoro and several
\ntechnicians were in the assisting helicopter.<\/p>\n
After everything was considered okay, Priyantoro said, the two
\nhelicopters flew one after the other, at a distance of about 100
\nmeters and at about 300 feet in altitude.<\/p>\n
\"Daniel's helicopter flew a little lower, in front of ours. We
\nkept communicating through the radio,\" Priyantoro said.<\/p>\n
But about 10 miles after we entered Deru village, Daniel's
\nhelicopter looked shaky and began to take a nosedive, according
\nto Priyantoro.<\/p>\n
\"Before the helicopter fell, I heard repeated shouts Allahu
\nAkbar (God is Great) from the radio. Black smoke billowed as the
\nhelicopter crashed,\" he recollected.<\/p>\n
Priyantoro said his helicopter returned to the naval base and
\nrequested help from the squadron.<\/p>\n
Villagers who witnessed the accident said that they heard
\nthree loud explosions minutes after the helicopter smashed into
\nthe ground. (nur\/sur)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/special-team-to-probe-helicopter-crash-1447893297",
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