Debris from the suspected crash site of a Trigana Air Service commercial plane had supposedly been spotted in a remote area in a mountainous area in Indonesia. The plane was carrying 54 people. This is the latest air disaster to hit the region in just eight months.
The National Search and Rescue Agency say that the wreckage is about seven miles from its destination. Henry Bambang Soelistyo, chief of the agency responsible for investigating the crash, announced that the site will be accessed by foot despite its remote location.
"Smoke was still billowing from the wreckage when it was spotted by a plane search", Soelistyo said. Bad weather like tropical rains and fog, rugged terrain, and an altitude of 8,500 feet add difficulty to this tragic event. Two planes overhead also provide air support for the ongoing operation.
Indonesian Air Transportation Director General Suprasetyo said that the wreckage was first spotted by villagers from the Tangok mountain. The Air Force and Army are supposed to build a helipad for quick evacuation purposes from the crash site.
Transportation Ministry spokesman J.A. Barata told CNN that the plane, a French-built ATR 42-300 with twin turboprop engines, left Sentani Airport in Jayapura, the capital of Papua Province, at around 2:22 pm and was on its way to Oksibil, around 170 miles south. The plane was supposed to arrive at its destination at 3:16 pm. It lost contact with air traffic control approximately 30 minutes after takeoff.
He also said that the plane does not seem to have sent out a distress call. It is possible that either the crew was too busy handling the problem at hand or that they simply had no idea of the danger they were in.
The European Commission has banned Trigana Air Service from operating in Europe "because they are found to be unsafe and/or they are not sufficiently overseen by their authorities."
