Four bodies found among Merpati plane debris
Four bodies found among Merpati plane debris
JAKARTA (JP): Search and rescue workers found four unidentified bodies and parts of a Merpati Nusantara Airlines aircraft in the Molo Strait, East Nusa Tenggara yesterday.
Merpati said in a statement made available to The Jakarta Post last night that the wreckage of the 16 seater turboprop was found by SAR workers off the west coast of Flores at 4:30 p.m. yesterday.
The Twin Otter aircraft went missing on Tuesday on its way from Bima, West Nusa Tenggara to Ruteng, East Nusa Tenggara. It left Bima at 8:55 a.m. and was scheduled to arrive at its destination at 9:40 a.m. The last contact between the pilot and the ground tower was recorded at 9:22 a.m.
The 10 passengers listed in the aircraft's manifest are Muchtar, Hasni, Yongky, Mr. Halim, Mrs. Halim, Robby Gunawan, Subagya Jasman, Rachmat, seven-year-old Wirawan and 10-month-old Cencen.
The crew members were pilot Raymond Salvio Awaat Runtu, co- pilot Lovi Ibrahim Adji, copilot Eko Gunawan and airborne mechanic Johnny Tjuikaang Saduk.
The state-run television station TVRI reported that SAR workers and residents also found the airplane's brake mechanism, the captain's cap with his name on it, a tie, a blue scarf and a red blouse.
The DHC-8 Twin Otter with flight number MZ 6715 was built by Canada's De Havilland Aircraft Limited in 1973 and had been part of Merpati's fleet since 1974.
Merpati headquarters said yesterday that the aircraft was "serviceable" and had no problem until it went down Tuesday.
An intensive search mission reinforced by two planes had been on since Tuesday morning, when the plane was first declared missing. One plane, carrying Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto, concentrated on the mountainous forest areas in Labuhan Bajo, Flores, where the ill-fated plane was last sighted.
Five plane accidents have occurred near the Ruteng airport since 1989, largely because of bad weather, airport officials said.
The deadly crash was the first for Merpati this year. Last year, a Merpati airplane crashed in Central Sulawesi, killing all 12 people on board.
In late November, another Merpati plane broke into three pieces upon landing in the Central Java capital of Semarang, seriously injuring one passenger. Several weeks later, Merpati experienced another accident with no casualties, although the aircraft was damaged. (pan)