Missing Cessna found after 10 days of searching

Nana Rukmana, The Jakarta Post, Kuningan, West Java

A search and rescue team located a light training aircraft along with the bodies of the pilot and two trainee pilots on Monday after it had been missing for 10 days in West Java province, officials said.

The Cessna 172, which went missing on Feb. 7, was discovered on the western slope of Mount Ciremai near Kawah Kurung village in Rajagaluh subdistrict, Majalengka regency.

The head of Cirebon's Penggung Airport, Dadang Ekasmana, was quoted by Antara as confirming the finding of the Cessna and the bodies of the pilot, Berti Franky Nausina, and the two trainees, Gagak K. Adrian and Prasetyo Arwin.

However, the rescue team was unable to gain access to the wreckage and remove the bodies because it was located in a steep valley and the weather was bad on Monday.

The search had been called off but was resumed after a villager reported finding an airplane propeller in the forest close to the western slope of Mount Ciremai.

The unidentified villager had reported his finding to the head of his village, who then relayed the information to the local subdistrict head and higher ranking officials.

Kuningan district Military Commander Lt. Col. Herry also confirmed the finding of the Cessna after several members of the rescue team visited the location to verify the villager's report.

Amalo, coordinator of the land search and rescue team, said 30 members of the team saw the wreckage of the plane near Kawah Kurung village in the area of Sadarehe on Monday afternoon, but could not approach it as yet.

"Now we are aiming to remove the plane and the bodies of its crew, but we are being hampered by bad weather," he was quoted by Antara as saying.

Amalo claimed that the rescuers had previously searched the Sadarehe area but had found nothing in the continuous bad weather.

"This (Monday) morning, the weather is bright, so the plane's whereabouts could be seen clearly, although the exact condition of the Cessna and its crew cannot be disclosed," he added.

Contact with the small airplane, operated by the Deraya Flying School, had been lost while it was on its way from Ahmad Yani Airport in the Central Java capital of Semarang to Halim Perdanakusuma air base in Jakarta on Feb. 7.

Since then, the search and rescue labored to locate it but called a stop to the search on Sunday after nine days when hopes of finding the Cessna had faded.

The search, which involved 69 trained personnel and 206 volunteers from government offices and organizations, was resumed at midday on Monday shortly after the report of an airplane propeller being found was received.

Rescuers said the wreckage would be removed by land, since it would be too difficult to reach the location by helicopter.