Probe into plane crash continues

Probe into plane crash continues

BANDUNG (JP): The wreckage, including the two engines, of the
ill-fated Baron B-58 training plane owned by Curug Civil Aviation
Academy was transported to the academy for further analysis on
Thursday, an investigator said.

Darmawan, an investigator from the National Committee for
Transportation Safety, said that some more components of the
plane, including propellers and the plane's speedometer, had been
found and transported to the academy for an investigation into
the cause of the crash.

The investigation is centered at the academy, but the
investigation team might look to the Bandung's Institute of
Technology (ITB) for assistance.

The U.S.-made plane was carrying three crew members including
the pilot, Captain Hendi Yoga Pranata, 26, and two students Yuda
Gautama and Puji Arianto, both aged 22, when it crashed near the
village of Tagog Apu, Padalarang subdistrict in Bandung on
Wednesday.

All three crew members were killed.

Darmawan said that most of the aircraft parts found were all
flight instruments, while the engine indicator, including oil and
engine temperature recorders were still missing.

He had speculated that the plane was flying at high speed when
it crashed into the mountain and expected the speedometer would
help reveal the mystery behind the cause of the crash.

"However we found the hand of the speedometer pointing to 0,"
he said. "It is becoming more difficult for us to find out what
caused the crash. We want to check the gear system to know the
plane's last recorded speed."

The plane left Curug for Bandung's Husen Sastranegara airport
at 8:27 a.m. on Wednesday, before leaving Bandung at 10:57 a.m.
after the plane was declared flightworthy, operational chief of
the Husen Sastranegera airport Lt. Col. M.Z. Zamhari said on
Wednesday. "At 11:43 a.m. the pilot sent a 'mayday' signal and we
lost contact with the plane at 11:54 a.m."

An eyewitness, Acep, 30, said he saw fire trailing the plane
before he heard an explosion.

Darmawan denied speculation that plane had caught fire before
it crashed into the mountain.

Based on the site's findings, Darmawan believes that the
plane's left wing that brushed several trees before it touched
the ground and exploded.

The ill-fated Baron plane, was one of four such planes owned
by the Curug academy. Other types of training planes used by the
academy include Sundowner E-23s and Cessnas.

The double-engined plane, produced by the Beech Aircraft
Corporation in the USA reportedly possesses a special feature
that enables it to continue flying with only one engine on.
(25/sur)