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.