IPTN-made CASA aircraft

IPTN-made CASA aircraft

From Kompas

A number of air crashes involving CASA NC-212 aircraft made by Nusantara Aircraft-Manufacturing Industry (IPTN) have occurred, killing passengers and crew members, generally because of the failure of the aircraft to maintain their height following the breaking down of one of the engines.

A CASA NC-212 (SMAC), during a flight from Palembang to Jakarta, had to ditch somewhere in the Jakarta Bay because of the failure of one of its engines. A number of passengers and the pilot lost their lives in the accident.

Then the same accident befell another CASA NC-212 (SMAC) when flying from Tapaktuan to Medan, killing the pilot, Capt. Rudolf Hutapea, one of my colleagues. During a Singapore-Pontianak flight yet another aircraft of the same type also had to ditch in the sea. The aircraft and crew are still missing.

In an air-crash in Banjarmasin, which involved a CASA NC-212 belonging to DAS, everybody on board was killed. In Ambon, the same aircraft belonging to MNA crash-landed, killing all three people on board. Fortunately, a recent accident befalling another DAS-owned CASA NC-212 in rural Kalimantan claimed no victims.

The latest air-crash occurred in Irian Jaya, killing all on board. This accident may have been caused by the failure of one of the engines causing the aircraft to lose altitude and crash into the Jayawijaya mountain range.

A conclusion that can be made from these air-crashes is that CASA NC-212 cannot fly well if one of the engines fails to function. The ministry of transportation must critically review the use of this aircraft for passenger transportation to avoid more people from being killed in plane crashes.

DJAUHARI

Jakarta