Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 106

On 19 April 1997, Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 106, a British Aerospace ATP operating a regularly scheduled domestic passenger flight from Soekarno Hatta International Airport to Buluh Tumbang Airport, Indonesia, crashed into a coconut plantation whilst on approach to the airport, killing 15 of the 53 passengers and crew on board the aircraft.

Background

Aircraft

The aircraft involved, manufactured in 1992, was a British Aerospace ATP registered as PK-MTX with serial number 2048. It had its first flight in 1992 and was powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW126 engines. The aircraft was owned by Merpati Nusantara Airlines, a state-run airline.

Passengers and crew

There were 53 occupants on board the aircraft: 48 passengers – including 44 adults, two children, and two babies – and five crew members.
The five crew members included 28-year-old Captain Bartholomeus Suwardi, 21-year-old first officer Imamtuhu Ahmad Faisal Soesmono, a mechanic, a 21-year-old flight attendant, and another flight attendant.

Accident

The flight took off from Soekarno Hatta International Airport at 06:40 WIB en route to Buluh Tumbang Airport with an estimated arrival time of 07:50. At 07:35, at an altitude of, the captain asked air traffic control for permission to land, to which they instructed the flight to land on runway 36. At 07:39, the aircraft crashed into a coconut plantation in Bulutumbang village, short of the runway. According to residents, the plane crashed nose-first into terrain. The plane broke into two sections with fire igniting in the front part of the aircraft.