Antonov crashes into Twin Otter at Sentani airport

Antara News, Thursday, December 2, 2010 20:54 WIB

Sentani, Jayapura (ANTARA News) - An Antonov 26 airplane belonging to State Logistics Agency (Bulog) crashed into a Twin Otter DCH 6 of Trigana Airlines at 8.15 am Eastern Indonesian time on Thursday at the Sentani airport`s runway.

In the collision, two propellers of the Twin Otter plane were broken but nobody was hurt, according to Bustomi, area manager of Trigana Air at Sentani airport.

Due to the incident, the Trigana Air flight from Sentani to Dekai in Yahokimo district was canceled and so were flights of several other airlines.

Bustomi said the Twin Otter was in a parked position when it was hit by the Anonov piloted by a foreigner named Olaks Toghy. After the collission, the Antonoc returned to its parking lot.

"We are not yet sure what caused the incident but the National Committee for Transportation Safety (KNKT) has temporarily barred the two airplanes from flying," he said.

Trigana Air was now waiting for the arrival of a National Committee for Transportation Safety (KNKT) team from Jakarta that would conduct an investigation to determine the main cause of the incident.

Due to the incident, flights of other airlines serving routes in Papua were suspended to the disappointment of many locals preparing to meet their needs ahead of the 2010 Christmas holidays.

Bustomi said the grounding of Trigana Air`s Twin Otter would mean a great fianancial loss to the company although it was all cobered by insurance.

"Based on a rough calculation, the plane can fly up to six hours a day and thereby generate an income of 200 US dollars per hour," he said.

The Antonov 26 plane which was chartered by Manunggal Air for cargo shipment to Wamena in Jaya WIjaya district also stood to suffer a financial loss due to the incident.