An Indonesia Air Transport turboprop aircraft is believed to have crashed in Indonesia, killing all eleven people on board. The flight, which departed from Yogyakarta on Saturday bound for Makassar in South Sulawesi, lost contact with air traffic control approximately twelve miles from its destination airport.
Search and Rescue Operation Underway
Footage from the scene showed debris scattered across a mountainside, which authorities believe belongs to the missing ATR 42-500 aircraft. Andi Sultan, head of the Makassar Basarnas Operations Section, confirmed that rescue teams have been dispatched to the coordinates in the Leang-Leang area.
The search and rescue mission involves a significant deployment of personnel. 'To detect and find the ATR 42-500 aircraft, the team has deployed 60 search and rescue personnel,' Sultan stated. The operation is being conducted in phases, with an initial assessment team of five, followed by a second team of fifteen, and a final team of forty specialists.
Loss of Contact and Emergency Declaration
Data from flight tracking service Flightradar24 indicates the plane lost contact abruptly at 4:20 AM GMT (11:20 AM local time). The Director General of Air Transport, Lukman F Laisa, explained that air traffic controllers noticed the aircraft was off its intended approach path.
'The aircraft was identified not to be on the approach path it should have been, so the air traffic control gave a redirection to the crew to correct the position,' the official said. After issuing several instructions in an attempt to guide the plane back to the correct landing line, communication was lost entirely, prompting controllers to declare an emergency phase.
Officials noted the aircraft was flying at a low altitude over the ocean, which limited radar coverage, shortly before the final signal was lost.
Context and Indonesia's Aviation Record
The crashed aircraft, registered as PK-THT, was owned by Indonesia Air Transport, a charter company that often serves oil and gas businesses and the public sector. At the time of the accident, it was operating on a long-term contract for the government's Marine and Fisheries Resources Surveillance service.
This incident casts another shadow over Indonesia's aviation safety record. The vast archipelago nation depends heavily on air travel to connect its thousands of islands, but it has suffered several fatal crashes in recent years.
Key recent incidents include:
- A helicopter crash in South Kalimantan in September last year, which killed all eight people on board.
- Another fatal helicopter crash in Papua's Ilaga district less than two weeks later, claiming four lives.
Rescue efforts at the mountainside crash site continue as authorities work to recover the victims and investigate the cause of this latest tragedy.
