Air Force launches crash probe
Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Bogor, West Java
Air Force chief Marshall Cheppy Hakim ordered an investigation on Thursday into the crash of a Sikorsky S-58T Twin Pack helicopter at the Atang Sanjaya airfield, which claimed seven lives.
He revealed his order to the press after the funerals of five of the fatalities at the Dredet Heroes Cemetery in Bogor.
Cheppy said that the test flight had followed the proper procedures. He said that the helicopter had just received its 100-hour maintenance inspection in the West Java capital of Bandung.
He also said that other helicopters of the same type would be temporarily grounded until the investigation into the crash had been completed.
"The helicopter was actually quite old. It began its service in Indonesia in 1973. It had exceeded 7,000 hours of flying time," Cheppy said, adding that the helicopter had been based in Makassar, South Sulawesi; Pekanbaru, Riau; and Pontianak, West Kalimantan; and had also been used in conflict zones like Aceh and Papua.
An aviation expert with the Indonesian Air Force, Rear Marshall Tatang Kurniadi, said that the helicopter had been donated by the United States.
"Right after the Vietnam war ended, the U.S. donated the helicopter to us," Tatang explained.
He supported the move to set up an inquiry, adding that it should be made up of aviation experts, and experienced pilots and co-pilots.
"The cause of an accident cannot be identified immediately as there needs to be a thorough investigation first. Usually, a probe of this nature takes more than one month," he said.
Meanwhile, the funerals of the five Air Force officers was marked by heavy rain and the tears of their relatives.
The pilot, Capt. Andy Wijaya, co-pilot Capt. Gustaf, technicians Chief Sgt. Syaefudin, Sgt. Maj. Munajat Hadiansyah and Chief Sgt. Bobby Aprianto were buried with full military honors.
Some of the wives swooned and had to be supported by other relatives.
The funerals were also attended by National Air Defense Commander Rear Marshall Wresniwiro, officers from the other services and officials from the Bogor administration.
The bodies of First Sgt. Ipnu Mawardi and Chief Pvt. Sukendar were returned to their families to be buried in their hometowns of Yogyakarta and Madiun respectively.
The seven airmen were died instantly when their helicopter, which was on a test flight, crashed on Wednesday at 10:18 a.m.
Air Force spokesman Air Commodore Sagom Tambun has ruled out bad weather as a possible cause because "the sky was clear during the flight".
This is the third accident involving a helicopter this year. The first was the skidding of a commercial helicopter of the top floor helipad of the Sahid Jaya Hotel in Central Jakarta, which resulted in the death of its three passengers, while the second was the death of eight Army Special Forces (Kopassus) soldiers who drowned in the sea off Lhokseumawe in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam after the harness they were suspended from was cut to prevent their helicopter becoming destabilized as a result of strong winds.