Plane With 18 Aboard Feared Crashed in Indonesia

Jakarta Globe, September 29, 2011

Related articles

• Alive? Hopes Raised as Downed Plane Found Intact
• Missing Indonesian Helicopter Found, Two Confirmed Dead
• Newmont Helicopter Missing in West Nusa Tenggara
• Bodies of Australian, Slovak Pilots Recovered in Papua
• Cargo Plane Crashes in Papua

Medan. A small aircraft with 18 people on board is feared to have crashed on Thursday in Indonesia’s Sumatra island, officials said. The Cassa 212, carrying 15 passengers and three crew, was flying from Medan city in North Sumatra to the nearby province of Aceh when it lost contact with air traffic control, Bambang Ervan said.

“It took off at 7:18 and was supposed to land at 8:00,” the spokesman said, adding that a search and rescue team was trying to find the aircraft.

“Most probably it crashed as it sent an emergency signal,” he said, adding it was not known whether there were foreigners on board.

Local search and rescue chief Suhri Sinaga said that the aircraft sent an emergency signal in the Bahorok area of North Sumatra province.

“We are trying to locate the aircraft,” he told.

A helicopter chartered by US giant Newmont Mining crashed on Sunday in central Indonesia, killing two people on board.

Earlier this month, an Australian and a Slovak pilot were killed when their small Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft, which was carrying fuel and food to a remote area in Papua province, went down.

Another small aircraft, which was also transporting supplies to remote villages for a Christian humanitarian association in Papua, crashed last week, killing its American pilot and two passengers.

Indonesia relies heavily on air transport and has a poor aviation record.

Agence France-Presse

Related Articles:

No one survive in the plane crash

Jungle trek to find crash survivors after plane wreckage spotted from the air with dooropen

After seven years, no progress seen in pursuit of justice for slain rights activist Munir

Mariel Grazella, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 09/05/2011

The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras) said that it condemned the government for erasing resolution of the murder case of human rights activist Munir Saib Thalib from its list of priorities.

Munir Saib Thalib

Munir died of arsenic poisoning on board a Garuda Indonesia flight to Amsterdam in 2004.

The condemnation came during the approach of the seventh anniversary of Munir’s murder, which falls on September 1.

“There have been so many dynamics within the Munir case over these seven years. However, over the last three years, the justice agenda has ended in weakening the law on” Kontras coordinator Haris Azhar said on Monday in a press statement to The Jakarta Post.

“The Supreme Court has freed Muchdi Purwoprandjono and gave Pollycarpus a number of prison sentence reductions that have been challenged based on accusations of obscure and vague reasoning,” he added.

Pollycarpus Budihari Prijanto, who was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment in 2008 for the pre-meditated murder of Munir, has been granted remissions every Independence Day and Christmas Day since his imprisonment. He recently received a 9 months and 5 days remission on Independence Day.

Muchdi, who was the former deputy chairman of the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), was put on trial for Munir’s murder but has been declared innocent.

He further said that it was befitting that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the Supreme Court, the Attorney General’s Office and the Law and Human Rights Ministry “sit together and evaluate progress made in this case and ensure that justice is fulfilled”.

“We are concerned that if President Susilo Bambag Yudhoyono remains quite and law enforcers mum, the Munir case would be erased from notes on legal processes. Those responsible will be free, physically and politically, meaning that there would not be any correction on that crime for Indonesia’s law and justice in the future,” he added.

Toyota to make hybrid car parts in China to boost sales

BBC News, 5 September 2011

Global Car Industry 

• Losses widen at struggling Saab
• Land Rover confirms new Defender
• BYD shares drop on profit outlook
• Toyota-Ford in hybrid SUVs deal

Toyota is planning to manufacture key components for its hybrid cars outside Japan for the first time, in a bid to boost sales.

Toyota is a pioneer in hybrid car technology
and more environmentally friendly cars

It will start making parts at its research and development facility in China to cater to growing demand from the mainland.

China is one of the world's biggest polluters but sales of hybrid vehicles are expected to grow steadily in coming years.

Toyota is the world's biggest carmaker.

"Everybody recognises that China is going to be a very important market for all car manufacturers," Paul Nolsco, a spokesperson for Toyota, told the BBC.

"Given the scale that we hope to achieve in China, it makes more financial sense to make these parts there", he added.

The company said it is likely to manufacture electric motors and batteries at its Chinese facility, but a final decision was yet to be made.

'More affordable'

China was also the first country outside Japan where Toyota started to assemble and produce its Prius hybrid cars.

However, the key components for those cars were manufactured in Toyota's Japanese factories and then sent over to the assembly lines in China.

Analysts said that had pushed up sale prices in China.

"That car basically flopped as the parts were too expensive," said Christopher Ritcher of CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets. The Chinese production of the Prius was eventually suspended by the company.

Mr Ritcher said Toyota's decision to shift the manufacture of these parts to China would result in cheaper parts and eventually translate into better sales.

"By making hybrids more affordable they can try and capture some of the market share and make this an attractive concept for consumers," he said.