5 killed in plane crash

5 killed in plane crash

Theresia Sufa, Bogor

Five people were killed when their Cessna Aves 185 went down in
Lido Lake, Sukabumi, West Java, on Sunday after an emergency
landing attempt.

The rescue team declared all five people on board dead, four
hours after the accident, which took place at about 12:15 p.m.

The team was unable to gain access to the wreckage located in
the 18-meter deep lake but found its propeller and wheels.

According to secretary of the Bogor branch of the Indonesian
Aerosport Federation, Bing Sutanto, two of the passengers were
Australian parachutists, identified as Wili Elison and Priscilla
Hall.

"They have been in the country for two days," he said.

The other three were identified as Maj. Yohan Pahlawan, the
pilot, Edi Kristiono, a parachute jumping instructor from Aves
Aerosport Club and Roni Hendriono.

Roni is also an Air Force member and aerosport athlete,
specializing in synchronized skydiving and in-air video
photography.

Cijeruk Police detectives chief First Insp. Bektiana told
reporters that the plane, which departed from Lido Aerosport Club
in Bogor, had to attempt an emergency landing on the lake after
developing engine trouble.

As of Sunday evening, the rescue team was trying to decide if
they should stop the search for the bodies until more
sophisticated rescue equipment arrived from Jakarta.

The accident is the second this year after two ultralight
pilots died when their plane crashed in a field near Wates Jaya
village in Cijeruk, Bogor, on April 15.

The victims were identified as Norman Mokodompit, a flying
instructor at the Lido Aerosport Club, and Teguh Arif Wicaksono,
an instructor at the Pegasus Aerosport Club. Both men suffered
fatal injuries in the crash, which occurred about two minutes
after takeoff.

Witnesses said the plane made a sharp turn to avoid an
electric tower in the field before it crashed.

On Feb. 7, 2003, a Deraya Flying School Cessna went missing on
a flight from Semarang, Central Java, to Jakarta. It was piloted
by Berti F. Nausina, 33, along with students Gagak Eskandaria,
21, and Erwin Bunadir, 23.

The missing plane was found downed on the slopes of Mount
Ciremai in West Java.

In December 2002, a training Piper Dakota crashed and hit a
house in Serdang Wetan, Legok district, Tangerang, injuring the
two on board and killing a local resident on the ground.

The light plane was flown by Yudhi Mustari, a student of the
Curug flight training center, who was accompanied by his
colleague Iko Trianda.