Air Force launches crash probe

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.