New Chapter in Terra Drone Boss's Trial Following Deadly Fire That Killed 22 People
The deadly fire case at the Terra Drone building in Central Jakarta has entered a new phase. Michael Wisnu Wardhana, Director of PT Terra Drone Indonesia, was brought to court for the first hearing.
The hearing, which involved the reading of the indictment, took place at the Central Jakarta District Court (PN Jakpus) on Wednesday (11/3/2026). Michael Wisnu is accused of negligence in preventing, mitigating, and extinguishing the fire that occurred at the Terra Drone office building.
For context, the Terra Drone office fire happened on Tuesday afternoon (9/12/2025). A total of 22 people died as a result of the fire, comprising 15 women and 7 men.
The case is being heard by Chief Judge Purwanto S Abdullah, with members Ni Kadek Susantiani and Sunoto. The Terra Drone boss is deemed responsible because the building lacked safety and security standards, leading to the loss of lives during the fire.
“That the actions of the Defendant, as Director of PT Terra Drone Indonesia, were negligent in preventing, mitigating, and extinguishing the fire at the PT Terra Drone Indonesia Office Building, including the absence of fire detection sensors, smoke detection sensors, emergency stairs and evacuation route signs, failure to conduct regular fire response training and drills,” stated the prosecutor while reading the indictment.
“And the lack of adequate Lithium Fire Killer (AF31) type APAR in the PT Terra Drone Indonesia Office Building resulted in the deaths of 22 PT Terra Drone Indonesia employees,” added the prosecutor.
The prosecutor stated that the Terra Drone building was used for storing business items of PT Terra Drone, including lithium polymer (LiPo) drone batteries of type 6s 30,000 mAh. The building also had only one main door without any emergency stairs.
Condition of the Terra Drone Building
The PT Terra Drone office building consists of 7 floors, with each floor connected by access stairs and 1 lift unit, with the building dimensions approximately 16 metres long and 9 metres wide. The general construction of the building includes a concrete flat roof with an iron-framed rooftop, gypsum ceiling with iron frame, brick walls with iron frame, and ceramic floors.
“The windows in the building cannot be opened; they are permanently installed. There is only one main door, without any emergency doors or stairs,” said the prosecutor.
The prosecutor noted that PT Terra Drone had 78 employees. The first floor of the building serves as the workspace for inventory, security, and office boy staff.
The second floor is the workspace for engineering, research and development, and inventory team employees; the third floor for finance, HRD, accounting and tax, and sales marketing staff. The fourth floor is for surveyor staff and the director’s office; the fifth floor for processing and project manager staff.
The sixth floor is an auditorium and space for employee events and meetings; the seventh floor is the rooftop and prayer room.
Minimal Safety Protections in the Building
The fatalities were trapped on the upper floors of the six-storey building. The victims could not escape due to smoke filling the building from the lower floors and limited evacuation routes.
The prosecutor stated that Michael, as Director, was obligated to prevent, mitigate, and extinguish fires in the company workplace building. The Terra Drone building had minimal safety protections, leading to numerous casualties during the fire.
“However, the Defendant, as Director of PT Terra Drone Indonesia, failed to fulfil his obligations to prevent, mitigate, and extinguish the fire in the company workplace building by not providing fire detection sensors, not providing smoke detection sensors, not providing emergency stairs and evacuation route signs, not conducting regular fire response training and drills, and not providing adequate Lithium Fire Killer (AF31) APAR in the PT Terra Drone Indonesia office building,” explained the prosecutor.
The prosecutor said that during the fire, employees struggled to extinguish the initial sparks due to the absence of portable fire extinguishers (APAR). The fire then grew larger, resulting in 22 PT Terra Drone employees becoming victims.
“The evacuation process was hindered because the fire on the first floor blocked people in the PT Terra Drone Indonesia office building from descending the stairs and reaching the exit due to smoke and radiant heat, and the upward spread of smoke through the stairs complicated evacuation efforts,” said the prosecutor.
“And the absence of emergency stairs and evacuation routes in the PT Terra Drone Indonesia Office Building meant that 22 PT Terra Drone Indonesia employees could not be evacuated until the fire was extinguished,” added the prosecutor.
The prosecutor charges Michael Wisnu with violating Article 474 paragraph 3 or Article 188 of Law Number 1 of 2023 on the Criminal Code.