Special team to probe helicopter crash

Special team to probe helicopter crash

SURABAYA (JP): Navy Chief of Staff Adm. Achmad Sutjipto
dismissed on Tuesday speculation that sabotage was behind a Navy
helicopter crash which killed all five people on board on Monday.

Speaking on the sidelines of the ceremony to overseeing the
removal of the bodies of the five crew members at Juanda Naval
Airport here, Sutjipto said the state aircraft company IPTN-made
BO-105 helicopter was airworthy before the fatal accident.

All the dead were members of Squadron 400.

Sutjipto said a special team would be set up to find out what
had happened to the helicopter.

The helicopter crashed at 3:30 p.m. on Monday in a tobacco
plantation in the village of Deru in Bojonegoro, some 110
kilometers west of Surabaya, according to Sutjipto.

The casualties were identified as pilot Second Lt. Daniel Fery
Sandy, copilot Second Lt. Asep Bambang Nurandani, Second Sgt. Dwi
Purwanto and Second Sgt. Priyanto. The only woman killed in the
crash was Ika, who was Daniel's cousin.

All the bodies were flown on Tuesday to their respective
hometowns: Daniel to Banjarmasin, South Kalimantan, Asep to
Tasikmalaya, West Java, Dwi to Nganjuk, East Java, Priyanto to
Bogor, West Java, and Ika to Jakarta.

Engine trouble, especially abnormal fuel pressure, was assumed
to be the cause of the fatal crash.

First. Lt. Priyantoro, who is also from Squadron 400, said
that the ill-fated helicopter had refueled in Semarang before
pilot Daniel was forced to make an emergency landing in the
district of Padangan, Bojonegoro. Engine trouble was blamed for
the unscheduled landing.

The squadron in Surabaya sent another helicopter soon after
receiving reports about the emergency landing, Priyantoro said,
adding that the pilot was Capt. Nyoman. Priyantoro and several
technicians were in the assisting helicopter.

After everything was considered okay, Priyantoro said, the two
helicopters flew one after the other, at a distance of about 100
meters and at about 300 feet in altitude.

"Daniel's helicopter flew a little lower, in front of ours. We
kept communicating through the radio," Priyantoro said.

But about 10 miles after we entered Deru village, Daniel's
helicopter looked shaky and began to take a nosedive, according
to Priyantoro.

"Before the helicopter fell, I heard repeated shouts Allahu
Akbar (God is Great) from the radio. Black smoke billowed as the
helicopter crashed," he recollected.

Priyantoro said his helicopter returned to the naval base and
requested help from the squadron.

Villagers who witnessed the accident said that they heard
three loud explosions minutes after the helicopter smashed into
the ground. (nur/sur)