Air Force's Hercules C-130 Fell And Killed One Hundred People, On Today's History, June 30, 2015

The Hercules plane that crashed in Medan in 2015 (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

JAKARTA - On June 30, 2015, the Indonesian Air Force's C-130 Hercules plane crashed on Jalan Jamin Ginting, Medan, North Sumatra. The incident resulted in the death of up to a hundred passengers.

Produced in 1964, the aircraft was piloted by Captain (Pnb) Sandy Permana. The plane with hull number A-1310 crashed after taking off at 11.48 a.m. from Soewondo Air Base, Medan.

At that time the plane was on a routine flight schedule which was carried out every month to transport logistics to various regions. The plane was originally going to Tanjung Pinang Air Base, Riau Islands.

Cited from Tempo, the Commander of the Roesmin Nurjadin Air Base, Pekanbaru, Colonel (Pnb) Khairil Lubis said the plane had previously flown from Abdul Rachman Saleh Air Base, Malang. The plane then spent the night at Halim Perdanakusuma, Jakarta.

After that, the plane continued its flight to Roesmin Nurjadin Air Base, Pekanbaru. Then, the plane headed to Medan at 08.00 a.m. local time on June 30, 2015.

The plane also carried ten Special Forces 462/Pulanggeni personnel, Pekanbaru in the context of changing operations at the Tanjung Pinang radar unit, Riau Islands. However, the plane crashed after taking off from Suwondo Air Base on its way to Tanjung Pinang.

The plane crashed on Jalan Jamin Ginting, Medan, at 12.00 p.m. local time. The plane crashed into the shophouse under construction and surrounding buildings. "I'm still monitoring on television", said Khairil.

The cause of the plane's crash is known to be due to the plane's dead right engine. Before it crashed, the pilot of the plane had asked to return to Soewondo Airfield and stated that there was a problem with the plane.

"If the pilot asked to come back, it was clear that there was a problem with the plane. But before returning to Soewondo Air Base, the plane crashed upside down", said Air Force Chief of Staff Marshal Agus Supriatna.

Agus added that other evidence that referred to the cause of the plane's crash was the plane's position which tended to turn to the right. That raises the possibility of the plane's right-hand engine having a problem.

"After we checked the position of the aircraft engine propeller, it turned out that the propeller was dead", he added.

In addition, Agus also said that the Hercules plane was found to have hit an antenna 30 meters high after a minute of flying. Agus did not explain who the antenna belonged to and for what.

"It was hit by the antenna, the evidence is there, from the seven stages of the antenna, there are only two. Some of the antennas fell on the roofs of houses or shophouses. That's actually at the end of the runway, there shouldn't be an antenna that high", Agus explained.

The victims of the accident

The Hercules plane that crashed in Medan in 2015 (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Because many victims were buried by rocks and the wreckage of the plane, the evacuation was slow. The total number of victims was over a hundred people, all of which died on the plane.

Some of the bodies could not even be identified. Cited from Liputan 6, there were five bodies that could not be identified. Finally, the bodies were agreed to be buried en masse.

The plane crash also caused trauma to the community around the crash site. To get rid of the trauma, the North Sumatra Police carried out trauma healing.

The Head of the Psychology Division at the North Sumatra Police, Mangasi Silaen, said that trauma healing was carried out as an action to help reduce or even eliminate psychological disorders that are being experienced due to trauma.

"We did this psychotherapy after yesterday we also provided counseling services for the victim's family. Now, for residents in this location, it is very much needed", said Mangasi.

Trauma healing is divided into two groups. First, children are given therapy services by playing while moving their limbs. Second, adults are given some of their own methods.

These methods include hypnotherapy and focus group discussions (FGD) to find joint and individual solutions. "They admit that they are still filled with fear and anxiety".

"Physically, tremors were felt in some of the motor organs, especially when they heard the sound of impact", added Mangasi.

In 2016, an inscription was built at the burial site of the victims of the C-130 plane crash. The burial location is the place where the unidentified victims are buried and not far from Suwondo Air Base.

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