Indonesian authorities announced the discovery of the wreckage of a fisheries surveillance plane that went missing in South Sulawesi province. The ATR 42-500 turboprop, operated by Indonesia Air Transport, lost contact with air traffic control on Saturday afternoon during a flight from Yogyakarta to Makassar. The plane was carrying seven crew members and three passengers, all of whom were staff from the Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry.
Rescuers located the wreckage on Mount Bulusaraung in the Maros region on Sunday morning, despite challenges posed by fog and rough terrain. They found parts of the plane, including a window and the fuselage, as well as the tail on the mountain’s slope. They later recovered one body in a ravine near the mountain’s peak, while the status of the other nine individuals remains unclear. A total of 1,200 personnel were set to assist in the ongoing search efforts.
The head of Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee stated that preliminary findings suggest the aircraft crashed into the mountain in a controlled manner, indicating the pilot was still managing the plane before the accident. The cause of the crash is still under investigation, and it was noted that the ATR 42-500 can carry between 42 and 50 passengers. Flight tracking data showed limited coverage as the plane was flying low over the ocean, with the last signal recorded about 20 km northeast of Makassar airport. This incident marks the first deadly ATR 42 crash in Indonesia in over ten years.
With information from Reuters
