Sempati crashes in Bandung killing at least 26 people

Sempati crashes in Bandung killing at least 26 people

BANDUNG (JP): Twenty-six people were killed and 26 others
injured when a Trigana Air Service airplane, leased by Sempati
Air, crashed five minutes after taking off from Husein
Sastranegara airport yesterday morning.

The Fokker-27 aircraft, flight number SG 394, was bound for
Jakarta when it crashed after attempting to make an emergency
landing at Sulaeman airbase, about five kilometers south of the
airport.

It was carrying 45 passengers, including two children, and
five crew members when it crashed into a muddy field near Mekar
Rahayu housing complex just 200 meters from the airbase's runway
at about 11.45 a.m. Western Indonesian Time.

It clipped telephone poles and the roofs of three houses
before it crashed. A resident, Yudi, told Antara he saw three
explosions as the aircraft hit the earth.

"It made a low, tilting pass before crashing," Yudi said. He
joined hundreds of people who helped rescue workers evacuate the
victims.

Two local residents and a Singaporean passenger identified as
Johnny Koh Eng were among the wounded. Eng suffered serious burns
and is in intensive care unit in Imanuel Hospital.

Minister of Transportation Haryanto Dhanutirto was quoted by
Antara as saying that Sempati Air had promised to help bring Koh
Eng back for treatment in Singapore. "We have 'medivac' (aircraft
for medical evacuation)," he said.

All the crew were killed. They were pilot F.X. Bambang, co-
pilot Achmad Rivai, mechanical engineer Bargowo and stewardesses
Sri Mujiati and Iin Deti.

Antara reported that rescue workers identified 15 of the dead
passengers as Sri Wahyuni, Heri, Edwin Y, Bio Yuliadi, Rina
Agustina, Tomi Hotma Damanik, Yashtina Andalas, Novalina, Fardi
Yanuar, Mohammad Iqbal, Sylvi Yanti and her two-year old son
Luthfi Akbar Fahriza, Heti Hemi Lahama, Tami Yulianti and Muchlis
Moenir. The rest have yet to be identified.

Muchlis' wife, Ranidan, survived with serious injuries and is
in Immanuel Hospital. The two were accompanying their daughter,
Rully, who was on her way to get married in Padang, West Sumatra.

The injured were admitted to Hasan Sadikin Hospital, Rajawali
Hospital and Asadyra Hospital.

A survivor, Sudrajat, said he saw fire and smoke coming out of
the aircraft's left wing as it was going down. He said he heard
several explosions.

"The pilot asked us to stay calm and said he would fly us back
to the airport," the employee of state-owned telecommunication
company PT Telkom was quoted by Antara as saying.

Husein Sastranegara airbase commander Col. Eko Edi Santoso
said further investigation would confirm whether the aircraft had
been on fire before it crashed.

"I've just come from Jakarta and do not know a lot about what
caused the accident," he said.

Haryanto Dhanutirto said while inspecting the crash site that
the pilot of the Dutch-made aircraft appeared to have been
attempting an emergency landing at Sulaeman airbase because of
engine failure.

Haryanto said that the pilot had contacted Air Traffic Control
at Husein Sastranegara airport and asked for a return-to-base
procedure.

"Unfortunately, the aircraft had lost power and the pilot
decided to land at the airbase," Haryanto said.

A team comprising the ministry's sub-directorate of flight
feasibility and Sempati experts are investigating the accident.

It was the fourth plane crash this year. The first was when a
Merpati Nusantara Advanced Turbo Prop (ATP) aircraft crashed on
Belitung island off Sumatra on April 19, killing 15 people and
injuring 31.

Next, a CN-235 military version aircraft crashed during a
flight test of a Low Altitude Parachute Extraction System at
Gorda airbase in Serang, West Java on May 22. All six people on
board were killed.

Another Merpati Nusantara, a Cassa 212, crashed last week near
Pattimura airport in Ambon, Maluku killing all three crew
members.

Sempati operates five 51-seat Fokker-27s for short-distance
flights. It was the second Sempati Fokker-27 to crash in the last
six years.

The first went down in the East Java town of Gresik in 1991
during a training flight from Surabaya to Balikpapan, East
Kalimantan. The two crew members miraculously escaped death but
were seriously injured. The crash cost the private airline Rp 8
billion (US$3.3 million).

Haryanto said he saw no reason to stop using Fokker-27s even
though the maker closed its factory following bankruptcy last
year.

He said some 25 Fokker-27 aircraft were in operation in
military and civil aviation in Indonesia and spare parts were
available.

"As far as I know the aircraft that crashed was carefully
maintained," he said.

He called on all airline companies to improve maintenance and
comply with flight procedures to prevent another crash.
(amd/leo/bay)