Private operator Pelita brings home remains of crash victims
JAKARTA (JP): The private operator Pelita Air Service yesterday flew home the remains of four of its six crew members who died when their transport plane plunged into the sea in Hong Kong last week.
There was brief show of emotional when the caskets were handed over to their grieving relatives as most had been mourning for the past five days. Many were simply relieved that the agony and pain of waiting was finally over.
There were 12 people on board the Pelita's C-120 Hercules plane, all were crew of the airline. The plane was on its way home to Jakarta, after a mission to repatriate Vietnamese refugees, when it experienced propeller failure and plunged into the harbor shortly after take off.
Six survived the ordeal, five of them have returned home while one remained hospitalized in Hong Kong in a critical condition.
The four victims flown home yesterday were captain Ignatius Soenoto, captain Adi Surya Wardana, cabin attendant Zarmis Kinan and first officer Bambang Sukomartono.
A brief reception awaited the arrival of Pelita's Fokker-100 plane from Hong Kong at the Halim Perdanakusuma airport.
Colleagues of the victims paid their last respects to the four victims, with Pelita President Capt. Budiono personally leading the brief but touching ceremony. He also went to each of the grieving relatives to comfort them.
The coffins, draped in the national red-and-white flag, were then sent to their respective houses. The bodies of Adi Surya, Zarmis and Bambang were buried immediately. Soenoto's body will be buried today.
Prevented
Relatives of the other two victims -- Eldon Karta Siahaan and flight engineer Bambang Haryono -- will have to wait until tomorrow before they can receive the remains of their loved ones.
They will be flown aboard a Garuda Indonesia airliner.
"A somewhat complicated administrative procedure in Hong Kong has prevented us from bringing the other two bodies today," Boediono said. The president however praised the way the Hong Kong authorities handled the whole incident.
A Pelita spokesman meanwhile said that their Hercules have been carrying out similar missions since 1991 for the United Nations.
It charges US$175,000 for each repatriation flight.
Pelita, a subsidiary of the giant state oil company Pertamina, has been forced to look for business overseas with the declining demand from oil contractors in Indonesia and fierce competition from new and rising private air operators such as Gatari, Airfast and Asahi.
The airline has to find enough business to support its 2,200-strong force.
Founded in 1970 to serve foreign oil companies, Pelita now operates 89 aircraft, including three Hercules, nine Casas, one Fokker-100, seven Fokker-28s, nine Gullstreams and 48 helicopters. (rms)