Four injured in Papua plane accident

Four injured in Papua plane accident

Nethy Dharma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Jayapura, Papua

A small Twin Otter aircraft belonging to Air Regional Airlines,
crashed on Monday near the Mulia, Puncak Jaya regency, injuring
all four on board.

The plane's pilot, Pingky Firmansyah, copilot Edy Ruslan,
technician Samudji and passenger Pentilas Telenggen were rescued
by another small aircraft belonging to Trigana Airlines, and
taken to a hospital in Timika, Jayawijaya regency.

The aircraft, flying under flight registration PK-WAR, crashed
into a pineapple plantation near Mulia airport while attempting
to land. The plane, which was also carrying 1.6 tons of rice, was
on its way to Mulia from Wamena.

According to Jayapura Air Base chief Col. Sunaryo, the plane
was having problems landing at the same time the weather turned
rough. Pilot Pingky, an experienced pilot who has flown through
poor weather conditions before, continued trying to land the
plane, but crashed into the pineapple plantation.

"For the time being, according to the report we received from
Mulia, bad weather is to blame for the crash," he said.

At the end of March, another Twin Otter aircraft belonging to
Air Regional Airlines crashed only minutes after taking off from
Mulia, killing five people on board, including the pilot and
copilot. The aircraft, which was overloaded with 21 passengers,
was flying from Mulia to Wamena.

Puncak Jaya is a remote regency located 3,500 meters above sea
level and can only be reached by airplane.