A small cargo plane skid off the runway at Sinak Airport in Puncak regency, Papua, on Saturday. The pilot Tommy Hendratno and copilot Ihsan Ryzky were reportedly uninjured.

The incident occurred only four days after another cargo jet skidded off the runway at Wamena Airport, also in Papua.

The Enggang Air Grand Caravan single-propeller plane had departed from Nabire with about 1 ton of diesel fuel on board. Around 12:30 p.m. local time the plane landed at Sinak but the crew failed to bring the plane to a halt before the runway's end.

The weather around the airport was reportedly foggy during the time of the incident, as it has been raining every day for the last two weeks.

Read also: Small plane crashes in Wamena, killing five

Sinak Airport head Dani Djoko told The Jakarta Post the crashed airplane had been removed to the apron and the airport was operating normally on Sunday. “National Transportation Safety Committee and Transportation Ministry personnel will arrive at Timika tomorrow to start the investigation,” he said.

Last Tuesday, a Boeing B737-300F operated by PT Tri-MG Intra Asia airline skidded about 100 meters off the Wamena Airport runway before coming to halt in a small ditch. Carrying around 15 tons of building materials and food supplies, the plane had departed from Mozes Kilangin Airport in nearby Mimika regency.

All four crew and a passenger were evacuated from the aircraft and there were no reports of injuries.

Sinak Airport’s skid-off was the fifth aviation incident across Papua in 2017.

Source:
courtesy of THE JAKARTA POST

by Nethy Darma Somba Nethy Darma Somba

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