Indonesia Plane Crashes In Greater Jakarta; 3 Killed

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

JAKARTA (Worthy News) – A small aircraft crashed in Greater Jakarta, killing all three people on board but narrowly avoiding more victims in Indonesia’s most densely populated metropolitan area of over 32 million, authorities said.

The small plane crashed Sunday during a training flight in South Tangerang City in Banten province, part of Greater Jakarta, some 30 kilometers from Jakarta, the national capital.

“It was so sad,” said a Christian, identifying herself as Victoria. “It happened near an engagement party of my nephew that I helped to organize,” Victoria told Worthy News.

Jakarta Police identified the deceased as pilot Pulung Darmawan, co-pilot Suanda, and a mechanic named Farid.

Witnesses said that the Tecnam P2006T training plane, owned by Indonesia Flying Club, came down near an open field in the Bumi Serpong Damai real estate just south of Jakarta.

There was a moderate rainfall intensity when the incident occurred, added Jakarta Police spokesman Ade Ary Syam.

LOSING CONTACT

“The plane took off from Tanjung Lesung in southern Banten and headed to Pondok Cabe air base until [Air Traffic Control] lost contact at 1.43 p.m.,” Ade told Indonesia media.

Officials said that the plane hit a tree before hard landing on the road and crashed into a field.

It wasn’t immediately clear to what extent the weather or technical issues played a role in the crash, with authorities still investigating the incident.

Footage seen by Worthy News showed concerned people near the twisted wreckage.

A resident named Angga told local media he heard “a loud bang” and rushed to the scene to check.

“I thought it was a car collision, but then I saw the wreckage of the plane. It was raining at that time,” added Angga, who works at nearby Giant Supermarket.

PULLING BODIES

It reportedly took two hours to pull the bodies under the supervision of the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT).

“The first body was pulled from the debris at 2:45 p.m., followed by the second body at 4:00 p.m. and the third at 4:45 p.m.,” said Desiana Kartika Bahari, the head of the Jakarta Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas).

She said the KNK sent a team to collect the debris and relocate it to the nearby Pondok Cabe air base for investigation.

Indonesia has seen numerous air crashes recently, though authorities have invested in better airports.

The crash came as Indonesia dealt with the aftermath of flooding and cold lava streams in some areas, including in West Sumatra Province, where scores of people died.

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