"The airport's current situation is secure, and its operational activities are running normally," the chief of Puncak Police, Commissioner I Nyoman Punia, said in a press statement on Monday.
The accident occurred about 7:31 a.m. local time on Monday. Security personnel and local residents who saw the plane skidding off the runway rushed toward it to save the pilot, copilot, and 12 passengers, he said.
The passengers were identified as Yofri, Erina Murib, Denius, I Putu Dhyana, Yulius Harikatang, Obet Kafiota, Irince, Melince, Weta, Kior, Melinus Tabuni, and Julinus.
Speaking to ANTARA earlier, he said that the aircraft likely skidded off the runway and crashed into the airport's fence due to brake failure.
As per the reports he received, the aircraft's pilot, Ilman, and copilot, Ilham, suddenly experienced brake failure while attempting to taxi the utility aircraft, with the registration number of PK-SJN, to the airport apron.
In response, the pilot spontaneously turned the plane to the left, causing it to skid off the runway and hit the airport's fence, Punia said.
Meanwhile, the spokesperson of Papua Police, Senior Commissioner Ignatius Benny Ady Prabowo, said that the aircraft had taken off from Timika, the capital of Mimika district, Central Papua.
During its flight from Timika's Mozes Kilangin Airport to Aminggaru Airport, there was no report of the aircraft running into bad weather, he added.
Aminggaru Airport head Oktovianus Sawaki said earlier that the Smart Air incident did not disrupt the airport's operational activities.
ANTARA reported earlier that Papua has witnessed numerous air accidents over the past few years.
On September 18, 2019, a Twin Otter aircraft carrying rice packages from the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) went missing en route from the Mozes Kilangin Airport to Ilaga, the capital city of Puncak District.
However, an intensive search operation, conducted for several days, resulted in the discovery of this Twin Otter aircraft.
In 2023, Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) recorded a slight increase in the number of aviation accidents in the highlands, especially in Papua.
The KNKT had recorded a total of seven accident cases and 13 serious incidents, with runway overruns being the most frequent event, said Soerjanto Tjahjono, the KNKT's chairperson.
The most prominent accidents were those of a Cessna C208B that crashed into a mountain in Papua and four tail-strike accidents involving Boeing 737 aircraft.
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Translator: Laily R, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Anton Santoso
Copyright © ANTARA 2024
