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)