Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 106
An ATP similar to the accident aircraft | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 19 April 1997 |
| Summary | Loss of control |
| Site | |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | British Aerospace ATP |
| Aircraft name | Sangeang |
| Operator | Merpati Nusantara Airlines |
| IATA flight No. | MZ106 |
| ICAO flight No. | MNA106 |
| Call sign | MERPATI 106 |
| Registration | PK-MTX |
| Flight origin | Soekarno Hatta International Airport, Jakarta |
| Destination | Buluh Tumbang Airport, Tanjung Pandan |
| Occupants | 53 |
| Passengers | 48 |
| Crew | 5 |
| Fatalities | 15 |
| Survivors | 38 |
On 19 April 1997, Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 106, a British Aerospace ATP operating a regularly scheduled domestic passenger flight from Soekarno Hatta International Airport to Buluh Tumbang Airport,[a] Indonesia, crashed into a coconut plantation whilst on approach to the airport, killing 15 of the 53 passengers and crew on board the aircraft.
Background
Aircraft
The aircraft involved, manufactured in 1992, was a British Aerospace ATP registered as PK-MTX with serial number 2048. It had its first flight in 1992 and was powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW126 engines.[1][2] The aircraft was owned by Merpati Nusantara Airlines, a state-run airline.[3]
Passengers and crew
There were 53 occupants on board the aircraft: 48 passengers – including 44 adults, two children, and two babies – and five crew members.[4]
The five crew members included 28-year-old Captain Bartholomeus Suwardi, 21-year-old first officer Imamtuhu Ahmad Faisal Soesmono, a mechanic,[4][5] a 21-year-old flight attendant,[b][4] and another flight attendant.[5]
Accident
The flight took off from Soekarno Hatta International Airport at 06:40 WIB (UTC+07:00) en route to Buluh Tumbang Airport with an estimated arrival time of 07:50.[2] At 07:35, at an altitude of 2,000 feet (610 m), the captain asked air traffic control for permission to land, to which they instructed the flight to land on runway 36. At 07:39, the aircraft crashed into a coconut plantation in Bulutumbang village, 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) short of the runway.[4][7] According to residents, the plane crashed nose-first into terrain.[4] The plane broke into two sections with fire igniting in the front part of the aircraft.[2]
Notes
References
- ^ "Loss of control Accident British Aerospace ATP PK-MTX, Saturday 19 April 1997". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. Archived from the original on 25 May 2025. Retrieved 12 July 2025.
- ^ a b c Darmawan, Aditya Priyatna; Firdaus, Farid (19 April 2023). "Hari Ini dalam Sejarah: Pesawat Merpati Nusantara Jatuh dan Terbakar, Bocah 5 Tahun Selamat" [This Day in History: Merpati Nusantara plane crashed and burned, 5-year-old boy survived]. Kompas (in Indonesian). Retrieved 12 July 2025.
- ^ "15 die in plane crash in Indonesia". Post-Bulletin. Vol. 72, no. 95. 21 April 1997. p. 5. Retrieved 13 July 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f Arbi, Ivani Atina (18 April 2021). "Saat Anak 5 Tahun Keluar dari Pesawat Jatuh Tanpa Menderita Luka dalam Kecelakaan 24 Tahun Lalu" [When a 5-Year-Old Got Out of a Crashed Plane Unharmed in a Crash 24 Years Ago]. Kompas (in Indonesian). Retrieved 12 July 2025.
- ^ a b "18 killed in Merpati plane crash". The Straits Times. No. 3167. Jakarta, Indonesia. 20 April 1997. p. 3. Retrieved 13 July 2025 – via NewspaperSG.
- ^ "Pesawat Latih FASI Jatuh di Bandung" [FASI Training Plane Crashes in Bandung]. Berita Yudha (in Indonesian). No. 1374. Bandung, Indonesia. 23 June 1997. pp. 1, 11. LCCN sn86056956. OCLC 9680753. Retrieved 12 July 2025 – via the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs.
- ^ "Merpati Nusantara ATP crash kills 15 people". FlightGlobal. Flight International. 1 May 1997. Archived from the original on 2 September 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2025.