Cesna forced to land, all survive

Cesna forced to land, all survive

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

A light trainer aircraft made an emergency landing in the West
Java town of Purwakarta on Saturday afternoon, but all four
people on board, including a Malaysian citizen, survived, local
authorities said.

The pilot, Anasias Zikir, 35, Malaysian co-pilot Muhammad
Zaenuri Idrus, 35, and another crew member, Mulya Kerta Sudiro,
49, all sustained serious head wounds, while the passenger, Heri
Isnanto, 37, escaped with minor injuries.

All four were rushed to Purwakarta's Bayu Asih General
Hospital, but were later flown at 3:55 p.m. to the Borromeus
Hospital in Bandung.

The Cesna PK-SAW aircraft was forced to land in a rice field
in the village of Depok, Darangdan subdistrict, near the town
Purwakarta at around 11:45 a.m. after having developed engine
problems.

The four-seat aircraft, operated by private charter firm
Deraya Air, left Jakarta's Halim Perdanakusuma airport at 11:05
a.m. en route to the Husein Sastranegara airfield in Bandung.

But after the plane had been in the air for more than 30
minutes, problems developed and flames were seen coming from the
engine, followed by load noises and escaping fuel splashing onto
the plane's windscreen.

"This all happened at an altitude of 2,700 feet. Zikir (the
pilot) then tried to reduce his altitude to 2,500 feet and
decided to switch off the engine. We then sought the safest place
to make an emergency landing," Mulya told journalists in
Borromeus hospital.

Husein Sastranegara airfield director Col. Sru Andreas said
the aircraft lost contact with the airport's tower five minutes
before crash-landing.

Antara reported from the scene that the plane was severely
damaged.

It said the front of the plane, its tail and undercarriage
were all badly damaged in the emergency landing. The single-
engine Cessna was still in the rice field as of late Saturday
evening.

Local villagers were quoted as saying the plane had been
flying very low before its engine suddenly stopped and the plane
crash-landed.

It also hit an electricity cable during the landing, the
witnesses added.

An investigating team from state-owned aircraft company PT
Dirgantara Indonesia arrived at the scene to determine the
precise cause of the crash.

A number of police and military officers were also seen around
the crash site along with hundreds of local residents.

The surviving passengers thanked local villagers for their
timely assistance in taking them to hospital.