Twin Otter badly damaged

JAYAPURA, Irian Jaya: A Twin Otter aircraft of the Trigana Air Service crashed upon landing in the remote Ilaga village, Paniai, on Monday but the five people aboard are safe, a report said yesterday.

A spokesman for the provincial transportation agency, Haryadi, said the authorities were awaiting a team of experts from Jakarta to determine the cause of the accident.

The accident happened at the Ilaga airstrip at about 12:15 a.m. when the aircraft carrying 1.2 tons of building material touched down, Antara reported.

The plane's wings and front landing gear were broken and its nose destroyed after it skidded out of control on the rainy day. It stopped after plunging into a ditch.

The crew, pilot Sulisno, copilot Dedy Nugroho, engineers Wiler Sitorus, Ridwan Lunuwan and Lauder Samsudin, sustained injuries, the report said.

Monday's accident reduced Trigana's aircraft from three to one. The other one crashed in Sugapa, also in Paniai. (pan)