Helicopter crashes in Ancol

Helicopter crashes in Ancol

JAKARTA (JP): Two people survived a helicopter crash uninjured
on Wednesday when the aircraft belonging to PT Heli Zona
attempted an emergency landing on a golf course on the Taman
Impian Jaya Ancol recreation site in North Jakarta.

The helicopter, piloted by Suratman, a retired Navy
serviceman, was carrying a Sonora radio reporter, Bartolomeus
Batag Gunarto, who was making aerial reports of traffic
conditions across Greater Jakarta, when its engine failed at
around 9 a.m.

The aircraft, with registration code PK-WMB, broke its main
and rear rotors when it overturned during the landing.

Spokesman for PT Heli Zona, Robert Haubourdin, told reporters
that the helicopter, produced by Robinson Manufacture in October
last year, was forced to make an emergency landing after its
warning light flashed twice while passing the Ancol area.

He said the helicopter was already slowly losing altitude
following the warning signal.

The pilot steered the aircraft to the nearest open field for
an emergency landing after he saw the warning light for the third
time.

Haubourdin blamed the bumpy terrain of the golf course for the
accident on landing.

He said he was not informed of how serious the damage to the
helicopter was, which was sent to its hangar in Lido, Sukabumi,
in West Java.

Security personnel blanketed the helicopter with a tarpaulin
and prevented people from approaching it after the crash. They
also prevented journalists from taking photographs.

An investigation team comprising representatives from City
Police, the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunication and
PT Heli Zona has been formed.

Sonora, a leading commercial radio station in the city, makes
live aerial traffic reports every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

A staff member of the radio station said the program would
continue despite the accident. (bay/amd)