TNI chopper down in Dieng, 14 dead
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.