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.