TNI chopper down in Dieng, 14 dead

Agus Maryono and Nethy Darma Somba, The Jakarta Post, Wonosobo/Jayapura

A military helicopter crashed and burst into flames in mountains near Wonosobo regency in Central Java on Thursday, killing all 14 Air Force officers on board.

Police and military officials blamed bad weather for causing the deadly accident involving the locally assembled Super Puma helicopter.

Kedu Police chief Sr. Comr. Agus Wantoro said the helicopter went down at about 12:15 a.m. near the Dieng plateau in Suren Gede village, Kejajar, about 17 kilometers from Wonosobo.

"The aircraft caught fire and was completely destroyed after hitting a tree in the mountain range in bad weather. All of its passengers were killed," he said.

Agus said the officers included five majors, two lieutenants and three captains.

The Air Force identified the victims as pilot Capt. Rizky, co- pilot Capt. Damar Agus, First Lt. Norman, Chief Sgt. Agus, Chief Sgt. Abdul Wahid and Chief Capt. Indrajaya, Maj. Feri Susetyo, Maj. Sumanto, Maj. Ruli Panji, Maj. Ruslan, Maj. Bambang Utoyo, Capt. Riyadi, First Lt. Aditya and Second Lt. Lukman Nugroho.

The crash was reported by a local farmer identified as Buchori three hours after the accident, police said.

The chopper was flying from the Adisucipto airbase in Yogyakarta to the Kalijati airbase in Subang, West Java, and on to Halim Perdanakusuma in Jakarta.

A rescue team led by Wonosobo Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Harwiyanto recovered the charred bodies of 14 soldiers from the wreckage of the chopper at the crash site.

However, the difficult terrain, heavy rain and thick fog had hampered rescue efforts. "We are still evacuating the bodies," local policeman Brig. Haryanto told The Jakarta Post in the late evening.

Harwiyanto was quoted by Antara as saying the rescuers discovered the chopper's black box and three guns, including a FN-45, at the scene.

On Wednesday, a Navy helicopter crashed into a fast-flowing river in the remote regency of Nabire in Papua province, also due to bad weather. All the three crew and two passengers on board died.

However, rescuers, including four Navy divers were unable on Thursday to recover the bodies of the victims or the aircraft wreck for study.

"The field conditions are very difficult, with heavy rain at the location of the crash, while the Siriwo River is extremely swollen, so the rescue team could not lift up the craft's wreckage and locate the victims," Nabire Navy officer Col. Herry Setianegara told the Post.

He said the tail end of the helicopter could be seen in the river, while the cabin was submerged.

The ill-fated Bell 212 chopper plummeted into the river while making a test flight as part of preparations for a planned Christmas visit by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to Nabire on Saturday.

"The test flight was conducted to check the route for the presidential entourage," Harry said.

According to the schedule, Susilo and first lady Kristiani Herawati will fly by a helicopter from a Tanjung Dai Fele ship to downtown Nabire during the trip.