Pihak Merpati Nusantara mengakui tak ada penumpang yang selamat dalam musibah jatuhnya pesawat Merpati Airlines jenis Twin Otter, dengan nomor penerbangan MZ 9760 hilang di Pegunungan Bintang, Papua, Minggu 2 Agustus 2009.
Direktur Utama Merpati, Bambang Bhakti membenarkan seluruh penumpang pesawat yang jatuh di Ampisil, Pegunungan Bintang, tewas secara mengenaskan. Kondisi tubuh mereka hancur berserakan.
Info tersebut, kata Bambang, diperoleh dari warga masyarakat yang berjalan kaki menuju lokasi jatuhnya pesawat. "Pesawat tidak utuh, penumpang juga tak ada yang selamat. Ini informasi untuk masyarakat," kata Bambang, didampingi Komisaris Utama Merpati, Said Didu, di Bandara Sentani, Jayapura, Papua, Rabu 5 Agustus 2009.
Mengenai proses evakuasi, kata Bambang, pihaknya telah berkoordinasi dengan kepala kepolisian setempat, komandan Kodim, dan tim SAR Pemerintah Daerah Kabupaten Bintang. Evakuasi, tambah dia, akan segera dilakukan.
Merpati juga telah mengerahkan dua helikopter Superpuma sudah dikerahkan ke lokasi. "Merpati akan bertanggungjawab atas seluruh penumpang hingga pemakaman dan asuransi,"tambah Bambang.
Sementara, Said Didu mengatakan dia sempat ikut dalam usaha menuju lokasi musibah dengan helikopter. "Namun karena awan tebal dan hujan lokal, tidak bisa terbang rendah," kata dia.
Berdasarkan penglihatan dari udara, kondisi pesawat hancur. "Cuaca di lokasi dalam hitungan menit selalu berubah-ubah," tambah dia.
Pihaknya, tambah Said Didu, akan membuat helipet di wilayah yang berdekatan dengan lokasi kejadian.
Pesawat Merpati hilang kontak saat melakukan penerbangan dari bandara Sentani menuju Oksibil. Pesawat yang lepas landas sekitar pukul 10.15 WIT itu dijadwalkan tiba di Oksibil, ibukota Kabupaten Pegunungan Bintang sekitar pukul 11.10 WIT Minggu pagi.
Pesawat dengan kapten pilot Qaqriyanova dan kopilot Pramudya serta teknisi Engginer Supiadih, dan 12 penumpang, kemungkinan hilang kontak karena cuaca yang kerap berubah-ubah di wilayah Pegunungan Bintang. Posisi pesawat terakhir terdeteksi di 90 nautical mile, di atas kawasan pegunungan dan lembah.
Berikut daftar penumpang pesawat yang dilansir Merpati:
Awak
1. Kapten Qadrianova (Pilot)
2. Pramudya Purwoadi (Co Pilot)
3. Supiadih (Teknisi)
Penumpang
1. Lauren (L)
2. Yustinus (L)
3. Nelvina (P)
4. Nutulo (bayi Nelvina)
5. Yohanes (L), batal terbang dan digantikan Bernardus Letki
6. Basilius (L)
7. Martina (P)
8. Edy (L)
9. Oliver (bayi Martina)
10. Yanes (L)
11. Yacob (L)
12. Simio (L)
Nama penumpang yang dilaporkan warga
1. Alidah Bidahana(P)
2. Melky Yor (bayi)
3. Demianus Kaladana (L)
4. Bernardus Lefki (L), beli tiket dari orang lain
5. Simayon
6. Kris Tekege
(VIVAnews)
sumber:
TV One
Search and rescue workers found Wednesday the bodies of all 15 people aboard a Twin Otter Merpati Nusantara Airlines plane which crashed in Papua on Sunday.
Merpati president director Bambang Bhakti said in Jayapura that the land rescue team and local residents had reached the site of the crash on the slope of Bintang Mountain, three nautical miles south of Abmisibil district at an altitude of 9,300 feet.
“All the passengers and crew have for sure died. We heard the report from our land search team,” Bhakti said, as quoted by state news agency Antara.
The victims will be evacuated when an air rescue team, which was prevented from reaching the site because of poor weather, can safely fly. Members of the air rescue team will be dropped at Abmisibil airstrip this evening and ascend the mountain to join the land rescue team and begin evacuating of the victims.
The aircraft went missing on Sunday on a flight from Sentani airport in Jayapura to Oksibil airport in the Bintang Mountain regency.
It was carrying 12 passengers, including two babies and three crew members.
Merpati president director Bambang Bhakti said in Jayapura that the land rescue team and local residents had reached the site of the crash on the slope of Bintang Mountain, three nautical miles south of Abmisibil district at an altitude of 9,300 feet.
“All the passengers and crew have for sure died. We heard the report from our land search team,” Bhakti said, as quoted by state news agency Antara.
The victims will be evacuated when an air rescue team, which was prevented from reaching the site because of poor weather, can safely fly. Members of the air rescue team will be dropped at Abmisibil airstrip this evening and ascend the mountain to join the land rescue team and begin evacuating of the victims.
The aircraft went missing on Sunday on a flight from Sentani airport in Jayapura to Oksibil airport in the Bintang Mountain regency.
It was carrying 12 passengers, including two babies and three crew members.
source:
The Jakarta Post
Passengers on some American Airlines flights will be able to use WiFi
American Airlines today became the first airline to offer onboard WiFi service for its fliers. As expected from previous reports, the Aircell Gogo service will be available for passengers willing to pay the $12.95 surcharge for flights that are more than three hours in length.
Nonstop flights on Boeing 767-200 aircraft flying between New York and Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco, and New York and Miami will have the new WiFi service. American Airlines planned on launching the WiFi service on the 15 Boeing aircraft last month, but it was delayed because the system had to be modified.
Each Boeing plane is connected to the WiFi network via ground-based systems
Talking on cell phones is still prohibited and VoIP has been disabled for all flights, Aircell previously stated.
Aircell will charge $9.95 for all flights three hours or less, and its pricing outline is for all airlines that use its service.
The service will be available on more flights after an initial testing phase of three to six months.
Delta Air Lines confirmed it will begin testing a WiFi service in the fall, with Alaska Airlines, Jet Blue, Southwest Airlines and Virgin America also have in-air WiFi tests in the works. Delta will use Gogo for its first class and economy passengers starting sometime in 2009, on at least 330 Delta aircraft. Several airline companies in Europe and Asia have been testing WiFi and cellular phone use while in flight, with varying results thus far. through an air-to-ground network. The planes receive signals from cell towers already in use, which makes the service cheaper for the fliers. Passengers must wait until the plane reaches 10,000 feet in elevation before signing up for the service.
Source: www.dailytech.com
