Jayapura, Jubi – The Rimbun Air PK 300 aircraft belonging to PT Intan Angkasa reportedly crashed and caught fire in Sugapa District, Intan Jaya Regency on Wednesday, September 15, 2021. All three crew members died in the incident, namely Mirza (pilot), Fajar (co-pilot), and Iswahyudi (technician).
The small plane did not carry passengers and was transporting food and building materials for Battalion 521/DY troops. The plane flew from Nabire Regency at 06.40 a.m. local time, then lost contact an hour later.
A number of local residents reported that the plane crashed in Bilogai Village at 11.00 a.m. Battalion 521/DY deputy commander Maj. Inf. Edi Dipramono confirmed the coordinate of the crash was 3.4 kilometers from Bilogai Airport.
Dipramono also said that the airport staff who were on the runway reported a very loud tree-falling-like sound. “It is indicated that the plane hit a mountain,” he said.
The crash site of the Rimbun Air aircraft was found at an altitude of 2,400 meters above sea level.
At 12.30 p.m., a joint rescue team of the Indonesian Military (TNI) and police, together with youth volunteers of the local church, started evacuating the victims. They found that all the Rimbun Air flight crews had died.
The evacuation process was hampered by bad weather. Fog and heavy rain poured down the crash site from midday to late afternoon.
“The evacuation process was hampered by fog and heavy rains,” said Papua Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Ahmad Musthofa Kamal on Wednesday, as quoted by Antara News Agency.
Kamal said Iswahyudi’s body could be immediately taken out from the plane because he was in the tail.
As of Wednesday night, the search team was still trying to evacuate the bodies of pilot Mirza and co-pilot Fajar from the cockpit. The bodies of the Rimbun Air flight crews will be evacuated to Intan Jaya’s capital of Sugapa on Thursday morning.
Editor: Aryo Wisanggeni G
