Missing plane found in E. Kalimantan, rescue delayed
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The Search and Rescue (SAR) team found the cargo plane on Wednesday that crashed in the vast jungles of East Kalimantan, but have not been able to rescue the 10 people believed to be on board yet.
Two of the three rescue planes combing the area where the plane was believed to have crashed on Tuesday, spotted the body of the ill-fated aircraft in remote jungle around Papadi and Long Padi villages, said Zainuddin, the head of Juwata Airport in Tarakan who also heads the rescue mission.
He said an immediate rescue operation could not be made as it was already dark.
"It (the rescue) will have to wait until tomorrow morning (Thursday)," he was quoted as saying by Antara.
The Britton Norman cargo plane with registration number PK-TAR-BN2A was flying from the town of Tarakan to Krayan.
It was carrying eight passengers and two crew members when ground control lost contact with the plane near the border of Malaysia.
Its crew members were pilot Lt. Col. Suyamto and flight engineer Apriansyah. The passengers were Johannes, Bangau, Yuni, Andreas, Frans, Philipus, Berli and Mariam, Antara reported.
Zainuddin could not describe the condition of the plane, saying he was waiting for reports from the SAR members who found it.
SAR was able to locate the plane with the help of an Emergency Locator Beacon (ELBA), which can send distress signals for up to two days non-stop.
Two planes owned by PT Dirgantara Air Service (DAS) and one used by missionaries of the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) took part in the search operation.
On the ground, some 150 police and military personnel, local authorities and volunteers combed the dense forests around the villages of Binuang and Long Bawan.
The crashed plane, took off from the Juwata Airport at 9 a.m. on Tuesday and was scheduled to land at Yuvai Semaring Airport in the Krayan subdistrict at 10:10 a.m.
Zainuddin has said the airport made last contact with the plane at 9.55 a.m. "We contacted Yuvai Semaring Airport and were informed that the weather in Krayan was clear for landing."