Plane goes missing in Papua, 17 people on board
Plane goes missing in Papua, 17 people on board
Nethy Dharma Somba
The Jakarta Post/Jayapura
GT Air's Twin Otter aircraft belonging to PT Mimika Air with 17
people on board went missing in Papua on Tuesday on its flight
from Timika to Enarotali, the regental capital of Paniai, the
police have said.
Paniai Police chief Sr. Adj Comr. Anthonius Diance, told The
Jakarta Post by phone late Tuesday that the aircraft's 14
passengers and three crew members -- pilot Hendri, co-pilot Toto
and mechanic Samudji -- took off from Timika at 10:50 a.m. local
time, or 8:50 a.m. Jakarta time, and was expected to arrive in
Enarotali at 11:15 a.m. local time.
"But at 11:15 a.m., and even until now, the whereabouts of the
aircraft is unknown, we can only say that the aircraft is
missing," Anthonius said.
He said that two other private aircraft, Avia Star from Nabire
and an MAF from Timika, have conducted a search from the air, but
the location of the GT Air aircraft, a regional airline partly
owned by the local administration, was still not known.
"We have contacted police precincts in remote areas that have
airstrips to find out the whereabouts of the missing aircraft,
whether it has landed there. But they said 'no'," Anthonius said.
He blamed bad weather in Enarotali in the last couple of days
for the incident. "The weather is really bad, with thick haze
during rain," he said.
Paniai Police, he said, are planning to send a team out on
Wednesday to look for the aircraft, "I've already briefed the 10
officers who will conduct the search," he said.
The lack of land transportation means that Papua, and its
neighboring province of West Irian Jaya, rely heavily on air
traffic and Tuesday's accident adds to a number of recent crashes
in the mountainous area.
In February, 15 people were killed after a Casa 212 police
aircraft nose-dived into an estuary meters in front of Papua's
Sarmi Airport. Later in the month, an aircraft struck a fence
while landing at the Enarotali airstrip, causing extensive wing
damage but no casualties.
In December last year, a 212 Bell helicopter belonging to the
Indonesian Military crashed into the Silimo River in Nabire while
conducting a route check prior to the visit of President Susilo
Bambang Yudhoyono there on Dec. 24. Three passengers and three
crew were killed in the accident.