The Head of the Class II Douw Aturure Nabire Airport Operations Unit (UPBU), Benyamin Noach Apituley, said the incident did not impact airport facilities and did not affect flight schedules to and from Nabire.
“There were no changes to flights from Nabire because there were no disruptions to airport facilities. Airport operations are running as usual,” he confirmed on Thursday.
He explained that Smart Air has prepared a replacement aircraft for the Nabire–Kaimana route, ensuring that flights continue to operate twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
Benyamin added that the airport handles an average of around 50 aircraft movements daily, including both arrivals and departures. Currently, eight airlines operate at Nabire Airport: Sriwijaya Air, Wings Air, Tariku Air, Smart Air, Revan Air, Ama Air, Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF), and Dabi Air.
Regarding the Smart Air emergency landing incident, Benyamin said the airport handled the situation in accordance with applicable standard operating procedures (SOPs).
“All SOPs were implemented. Since the incident occurred at the end of the runway, all handling was carried out by airport personnel in accordance with the airport’s SOP documents,” he explained.
The airport is also awaiting the results of an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT), which will be followed up by relevant parties, including Smart Air and other airlines, to prevent similar incidents from recurring.
Furthermore, the airport regularly updates weather information through coordination with the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) as part of efforts to maintain aviation safety.
Earlier, a Smart Air aircraft operated by PT Smart Cakrawala Aviation, a Cessna 208 Caravan with registration number PK-SNS, experienced engine trouble shortly after taking off from Nabire Airport en route to Kaimana Airport at around 1:00 p.m. local time on Tuesday.
Based on initial information, the aircraft was carrying 11 passengers and two crew members: pilot Captain Tania K and co-pilot FO Bagus.
After detecting engine trouble that affected the aircraft’s thrust, the pilot decided to return to Nabire Airport. However, to ensure passenger safety, the pilot made an emergency landing at Karadiri Beach, also known as Logpond, located at the end of Nabire Airport.
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Translator: Ali Nur Ichsan, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: M Razi Rahman
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