Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 868

[SimCaptain]

Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 868 was a domestic passenger flight from Sorong, West Papua, Indonesia, to Kaimana, West Papua, Indonesia. On May 7, 2011, the Merpati Nusantara Airlines Xian MA60 aircraft operating the flight crashed off the coast of West Papua on approach to Kaimana Airport. At least 27 people are reported to have been on board the aircraft; authorities have recovered 15 bodies but it is thought all the passengers and crew were killed.

Update2: Bodies Recovered After Indonesia Plane Crash | The Jakarta Globe (http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/breaking-news-indonesia-plane-crash/439690)

[hetfield]

Again, INDONESIA........

[hubertz]

15 Killed in Passenger Plane Crash in Indonesia - FoxNews.com (http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/05/07/15-killed-passenger-plane-crash-indonesia/)

Any news?

[SimCaptain]

PK-MZK

The Kathryn Aviation Report: PK-MZK Xian MA-60 of Merpati Nusantara AL. Indonesian plane crash kills at least 15. Xian MA-60, Merpati Nusantara Airlines, PK-MZK. Near Kaimana Airport, West Papua Province. (http://www.thekathrynreport.com/2011/05/indonesian-plane-crash-kills-at-least.html)

[Passenger 389]

Per Associated Press:

"The recovered black box was the flight data recorder, said Bambang Ervan, a spokesman for the Transportation Ministry. The voice data recorder has been located and searchers could retrieve it Monday."

[jcjeant]

Hi,

The airfield ....

http://i20.servimg.com/u/f20/12/30/93/88/merpat11.jpg

[Heathrow Harry]

Heavy rain reported = thunderstorms?

I worked in that area way back - its not for the fainthearted

[ReverseFlight]

Indonesia bans Chinese-made MA-60s plane from three airports (http://www.theage.com.au/travel/travel-incidents/indonesia-bans-chinesemade-plane-from-three-airports-20110526-1f5yj.html)

The Age, May 26, 2011 - 5:01PM

Indonesia has banned Chinese-made MA-60 aircraft from using three airports for safety reasons, after one of the planes crashed and killed 25 people earlier this month, an official said Wednesday.
The turbo-prop plane operated by state-owned Merpati Nusantara airlines crashed into the sea as it approached an airport in Kaimana district of West Papua province during heavy rain on May 7.
Air transport director general Herry Bhakti said authorities decided to ban the aircraft from landing at three airports with difficult approaches.
"The airports are in Ruteng in West Nusa Tenggara province, Ende and Waingapu in East Nusa Tenggara. Those airports have high obstacle rates. They demand lot of manoeuvring to get there," he said.
The official said the cause of the crash was still being investigated but it was already clear that Merpati pilots needed supplementary training on the MA-60s.
Simulators for the aircraft -- manufactured by Xi'an Aircraft Industrial Corporation -- are not yet available in Indonesia, he added.
Indonesia's aviation authorities have insisted the aircraft are safe and have rejected calls from lawmakers to ban them altogether.
But President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ordered a review of the government's decision to buy 15 MA-60s for some $220 million.
The deal has been shrouded in controversy amid allegations of kickbacks and questions about the planes' air-worthiness.
Yudhoyono said on May 12 the public needed "clear explanations" from Merpati directors, the state-owned enterprises minister and the transport minister.
The investigator of the accident said that they had yet to reach a conclusion on the cause of the accident.
"We are still trying to gather the plane's wreckage from the sea," transportation safety committee official Masruri said.
The vast Indonesian archipelago relies heavily on air transport but the country has one of Asia's worst air safety records.
The European Union banned Indonesian airlines from its airspace in June 2007 due to safety concerns, but lifted the ban for some carriers after two years. Merpati remains on the blacklist.
AFP

[Sam Bee]

Not so much an official update, but I thought for anyone interested the following might raise an eyebrow (well, the last 3 flippant paras anyway):

Government Says Human Error to Blame for Merpati Airline Disaster | The Jakarta Globe (http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/government-says-human-error-to-blame-for-merpati-airline-disaster/461414)