The last five aviation accidents that shook Indonesia

In October 2018, an Indonesian aircraft carrying 189 people on-board crashed into the sea soon after take-off. It was only the second-worst aviation accidents in Indonesian history, the first one being a decade old, a 1997 crash that claimed 214 lives. In 2016, the plane safety rating website, airlineratings.com surveyed 407 major airlines across the world. Nine of the worst-performing airlines in terms of safety standards were Indonesian. In a tourism-centered country where more than 60 airline companies compete to deliver services at a low price, the quality and infrastructure generally go unseen.

Here is a list of the last five aviation disasters in Indonesia:

January 9, 2021:

Debris of a Sriwijaya Air Boeing 737-500 operating flight SJ182 from Jakarta to Pontianak recovered by the rescue team in the ocean, according to local media. Radar contact with the Boeing 737 was lost about four minutes after departure and ADS-B flight tracking services showed the aircraft making a rapid descend. Although no source has released the number of casualties, the aircraft carried six crew members and 56 passengers on board.

June 6, 2020

When the world was reeling with COVID-19, an Indonesian military’s Mi-17 crashed during a training exercise on the country’s Java island on Saturday, killing four onboard. Five other crew members were injured in the accident. The men were in the middle of a flying lesson when the chopper crashed and caught fire in central Java province.

“The incident killed four crew members and injured five others,” said Nefra Firdaus, Indonesian Army spokesman, in a statement.

May 12, 2020

US-based Christian and humanitarian aid organisation Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF)’s  Kodiak aircraft operated by into Lake Sentani in Papua crashed. After taking off from Sentani airport in Jayapura at 6:27 am. local time and the pilot made a distress call two minutes later. The Search and Rescue (SAR) team recovered the body of the pilot, the only person aboard the aircraft, at a depth of 13 meters in the lake at 8:30 am local time. “The body was immediately taken to Bhayangkara Police Hospital,” Jayapura SAR chief Zainul Thahar said as quoted by kompas.com.

March 23, 2020

An Indonesian Air Force plane- CASA CN A-2909 plane was taken down at by the National Liberation Army of West Papua (TPNPB) while flying over Serambakon district in Pegunungan Bintang regency, Papua.

“The plane managed to land in the capital of Pegunungan Bintang, Oksibil, but five holes were found on the plane’s body,” Cenderawasih Military Command spokesperson Lt. Col. Eko Daryanto said as quoted by kompas.com.

June 28, 2019

An Indonesian military helicopter registered as HA-5138 with 12 people on board lost contact with air traffic control Friday just minutes after takeoff, an official said, according to AFP reports.

The Mi-17 chopper was en route from Oksibil, in easternmost Papua province to Sentani, also in Papua. All passengers on board were military crew and the aircraft was carrying logistical supplies, Papua military spokesman Muhammad Aidi said. From the reports received, the helicopter flew from Oksibil at 11:44 WIT. At around 11:48 WIT the helicopter made contact with the tower to announce that it would rise to 7,800 feet, 6 nautical miles to the north.