Crash victims recovered, cause to be investigated

Crash victims recovered, cause to be investigated

Theresia Sufa and Suherdjoko, Bogor/Semarang

A search and rescue team has located and recovered all five
fatalities of a Cessna Aves 185, which nose-dived on Sunday into
Lido Lake in Sukabumi, West Java, during an emergency landing
attempt.

Four victims -- Australian parachutists Priscilla Hall and
Willy Allison, Aves Aerosport Club parachute jumping instructor
Edy Christanto and Air Force Capt. and aerosport athlete Rony
Adriono -- were evacuated on Monday at 1:15 a.m.

Rescuers had difficulties in evacuating the final victim,
pilot Lt. Col. Johan Pahlawan, as the American-made aircraft had
sunk to a depth of 18 meters.

"The main trouble was that the bottom of the lake was very
muddy and murky. We couldn't see a thing and felt our way to the
plane," said rescuer Jhoni S. Sidjabat.

They were at last able to recover Johan's body from the
cockpit at around 9 a.m. after cutting the seat belt.

The head of the Indonesian Aerosport Federation (FASI) in
Bogor, Bing Sutanto, said the victims had begun practicing on
Saturday.

"They were having their final parachuting practice when the
plane crashed," he said.

Hall's brother, Stewart, said at the Bogor Indonesian Red
Cross Hospital that it was his sister's first time parachuting.

"She had lived in Jakarta for two years and worked as an
interior designer. I really miss her, we were very close. I
appreciate the rescuers' effort in evacuating my sister even at
midnight," he said.

Hall's remains will be laid out at the Dharmais Foundation
funeral home before it is flown to her hometown of Brisbane.
Allison's remains will also be laid out at Dharmais before it is
flown to his hometown of Darwin.

Rony, the second child of former Central Java governor
Soewardi, received a military burial in Magelang, Central Java.

Rony and Edy were to take part in September's National Games
in South Sumatra, while Edy had been preparing to break the world
record in the 100-skydiver formation in Bali from Aug. 8 to Aug.
14.

Police are investigating into the cause of the crash.

"Witnesses said they saw the aircraft flying overhead and
suddenly the engine stopped and it plunged into the lake," police
spokesman Sgt. Subagio said as quoted by AP. "They said it
happened very fast."

The skies were clear when the accident occurred, and officials
have speculated that sudden engine failure was the most likely
cause of the crash.

"Around five minutes after takeoff, the Cessna lost contact
with Lido Air Traffic Control. Minutes later, we were informed
that the plane had crashed," FASI spokesman First Marshall Sagom
Tambun said as quoted by Antara.

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