|
MANOKWARI - A routine domestic flight almost ended in disaster on Tuesday when a jet carrying more than 100 passengers broke apart on landing in Indonesia, injuring about 20 people, officials said. The Merpati airline Boeing 737 bounced off the tarmac at Rendani domestic airport in Manokwari, West Papua.
The plane then hurtled into trees and skidded into a shallow river, director general of civil aviation Herry Bhakti Singayuda said. "All the passengers were in a total panic, some even screamed and cried," said passenger Zainal Hayat, 52, who crawled out of a crack in the fuselage and was being treated at hospital with facial injuries.
The Merpati airline Boeing 737, which broke into pieces at Rendani domestic airport in Manokwari, West Papua. "We flew safely and the plane touched down smoothly on the runway but it just didn't stop. It skidded very fast and I felt it hit something twice before it stopped and tumbled down. I got out through a crack in the plane near my seat."
Singayuda said the plane came to a halt with its tail section in the river about 200 metres from the end of the landing strip. "All 103 passengers and six crew members are safe. Some are injured. They have been rushed to hospital," he said. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed that no Australians were no board the flight.
Heavy rain and fog were suspected of playing a part in the crash, he added, although expert investigators had yet to arrive at the scene. Manokwari Hospital emergency unit nurse Benget Hutagalung said "about 20" people had been brought in with shattered limbs and head injuries.
Witnesses said the left wing broke off as the plane smashed into the trees at the end of the runway. The cockpit was also almost completely separated from the rest of the fusilage. The plane was flying a routine domestic route from Sorong, also in West Papua province, to Manokwari, a distance of about 340 kilometres.
Transport ministry experts from the capital Jakarta were on their way to the rugged province in the far east of the country to investigate the crash, an official said. The vast archipelago of Indonesia relies heavily on air transport but has one of Asia's worst air safety records. Merpati airline corporate secretary Sukandi suggested that rain played a part in the crash and ruled out pilot error.

The Merpati Nusantara airline Boeing 737, which broke into pieces at Rendani domestic airport in Manokwari, West Papua.
|
|
|
There are no reactions on this blog entry yet. Be the first one to give a reaction here!
|
Log in to write a reaction
|
You are not logged in to the website. You have to be logged in to write a reaction on this blog entry.
· If you already have an account, please login.
· If you have lost your password, please retrieve it.
· If you don't have an account yet, you can create one.
|
|
|
ABOUT THIS ENTRY |
Add this blog entry to your email, your own blog, MySpace, Facebook, or whatsoever via AddThis:
|

Login if you want to receive emails for reactions on this blog entry. You will receive an update as soon as a reaction on this blog entry is posted.
|
|
Looking for e-tickets for flights in Indonesia? Here's your solution! Order your e-tickets at ticketindonesia.info.
|
BLOG ARCHIVE |
· 2015, 28 entries
· 2014, 591 entries
· 2013, 750 entries
· 2012, 1061 entries
· 2011, 792 entries
· 2010, 644 entries
· 2009, 916 entries
· 2008, 504 entries
· 2007, 725 entries
· 2006, 1014 entries
· 2005, 723 entries
· 2004, 558 entries
· 2003, 525 entries
· 2002, 375 entries
· 2001, 162 entries
|
POPULAR TAGS |
Automatically generated every hour
|
EXCHANGE RATES |
@ 17 May 2018 18:12 CET
|
@ 17 May 2018 21:58 CET
|
@ 15 May 2018 08:42 CET
|
@ 07 May 2018 07:48 CET
|
@ 16 May 2018 09:18 CET
|
@ 17 May 2018 00:46 CET
|
|
Go to 'exchange rates' |
|