This accident was avoidable had the DGCA of Indonesia suspended the AOC after crash 2, which occured 75 days after crash number 1!
The report copied below has been reduced considerably from its original due to size constraints in this forum:
Report January 2012
1. It is clear that Susi Air is not fit to hold an AOC under the terms of Part 135.
2. The only course of action is to suspend operation of Susi Air.
8. The lack of oversight by the DGCA is putting innocent life at risk!
18. Safety Management system is totally dysfunctional
19. The risk of a single engine failure is increasing with every hour flown.
20. The risk of loss of life is extremely high and beyond a level which is acceptable in any risk management system.
This is the only company (airline) in indonesia that doesnt hire local pilots only exapts.. so the local knowledge is not there...besides Gps, nav aids and all other bell and whistles that you can stuff into the a caravan... a pilot from the area is very important..Ex. nothing beats a local guy..from papau. who know the mountain and weather..in his area.
where Susi air fly is not for the faint hearted.. or a guy fresh from flt school wanting to burn holes in the sky to top up that total flt time.. This is most dangerous flying...you can get... this is not a place to learn the skills.. these places are where skills are needed.
I really hope nothing else happens in this company... I mean more deaths.
Because local Papuan pilots are a dime a dozen, are readily available and have the required experience (+- 2000 hours total time).
Stop commenting on things you know nothing about. Do you fly for Susi Air? Do you know the amount of experience that the pilots who fly in Papua have? I know this is a rumour network, and many people seem very good at doing just that, spreading rumours. Enough said.
suzi air could have big trouble with the the most recent accident in East kalimantan. the flight was aerial survey and there was no security officer on board. what's even worse is the pilot and the camera operator on board r both foreigners. this is big time legal offense and if this can't bring serious trouble to suzi, then nothing will. suzi ( the owner ) must b very smart player who knows exactly which switch to push.
It's sad news whenever a plane goes down anywhere, so please refrain from the finger pointing until we know exactly what happened. When accidents occur, the best outcome is that we all learn from it and try to prevent it from happening again.
I would never ever consider flying on a single engine aircraft over some of the terrain that these guys fly, and I take off my hats to them, for being so brave and daring. Don't know whether it's always possible to maintain VMC as the weather changes so quickly there, so how they can do this, is so admirable. Just glad it's you guys and not me doing this kind of flying.
The original post implies two accidents within 75 days is the grounds for the recommendation to shut down Susi Air. It seems like someone has an axe to grind with Susi and nothing more. Luckily for Susi, I have heard she is connected right up to the top.
I think Merpati's accidents in the past few years (MA60 at Kaimana, B737 at Manokwari, DHC6 hitting a mountain) or AviaStar's amazing 150 to 350' circuit that ended with a regional jet flying into a very small hill (and their Twin Otter flying into a mountain ~80 days later) would have been far better candidates to recommend shutting down than Susi Air. But wait, those extra few days make all the difference between AviaStar and Susi, right? Or maybe it is because they employ mostly employee Indonesian pilots not foreigners unlike Susi Air...
I would also be interested in where that report is available to see if there are additional reasons behind their recommendations and if they are presented out of context here.
The president， susi， said im a press conf she didnt know whether she could carry on after 5 pilot and passenger deaths in the last year。 anyone heard anything？ i was thinking of applying for a job with susi。is tbe fact they hire newbie pilots meaning noone knows what they are doing over there？
Do you really want to fly single engine VFR (or is it IFR they fly??) There are much better options in Indonesia than this, and yes, even for foreign pilots. You need to ask around.
There are jobs available for low timers in Indonesia flying real air transport category aircraft, not GA single engine VFR over mountainous terrain BS. You obviously haven't looked hard enough...
Quote : 'You need to build your hours by working on entry level jobs, such as flight instructing, fire spotting, fish spotting, aerial scenic joy flights etc.
Once you have 1000 to 1500 hours, then start looking at airlines. I know it's easier said than done, but that's how many people have done it in the past. Unless you're born with a silver spoon or have very good contacts in the industry, then I'm afraid you'll have to spend some time flying entry level jobs to build your hours and experience. In the mean time, good luck and don't give up.'
Good advice Xanadu, but I take it you have a different view these days?
To the best of my knowledge, multi IFR gigs in Indonesia tend to come with strings attached - time on type, P2F, self fund your type rating and the like... options which are not to everyones taste, or budget. Which leaves SE VFR. Not glamorous, not easy, but hey without a 'silver spoon or good contacts', still a valid option in my humble opinion.
If there are loads of Multi IFR jobs for low timers without that silver spoon, then its a no brainer - go for it. I just havent seen the evidence, after a number of years in country.
Got an email off Susi last week about submitting an application, had it still open on my Desktop when I came across this thread... It has since been sent into the trash! Any airline can crash in my opinion, but don't make a habit of it.
I mean no disrespect to the poor men who have lost their lives, but I have done the sort of flying they do over there and it is not for the faint of heart. The Caravan is a beautiful aircraft and the flying can be very rewarding, but Indonesia for whatever the reasons (most likely the weather, terrain and poor decision making) seems to be a risky place.
I would agree with the posters above who are talking about building up experience gradually, I may be biased as I am currently choosing to go this route rather than paying 50K for line training on a jet with no job, but I have time that other people feel they don't, I know I will be in an airline within the next 2 years... whats the rush? I'll have another 40 years of it after that!
There are jobs available for low timers in Indonesia flying real air transport category aircraft, not GA single engine VFR over mountainous terrain BS. You obviously haven't looked hard enough...
Flying what, a PT6? I can think of a hell of a lot worse engines and aircraft to be be flying SE (or even Multi engine) on. Plenty of jobs in other parts of the world involve doing so regularly, over tiger country. Weather, operational experience and local knowledge (lack of) would be the biggest risks in this operation, not the aircraft. But if you can jump straight into a transport category aircraft as an FO with 200 hours then good for you
This news article suggests a fuel delivery problem? A fuel pump failure perhaps in a relatively new aircraft?
Quote:
Mr Von Strombeck said early investigations suggested the plane had sufficient fuel in its auxiliary tanks to fly for up to two more hours but that the fuel was not being delivered to the engine.
"Latest update. This Advice was last issued on Tuesday, 01 May 2012. It contains new information under Airline Safety (Australian officials in Indonesia have been directed not to use Susi Air for official travel until further notice). The overall level of the advice has not changed."
He also said he received more details about this but I can't find anything else on the website
