JAKARTA - The Directorate General of Air Transportation of the Ministry of Transportation stated that the ATR 42-500 aircraft belonging to Indonesia Air Transport (IAT) with registration PK-THT which was reported missing in the Maros Regency area, South Sulawesi, is currently still in the intensive search phase.
Director General of Air Transportation of the Ministry of Transportation, Lukman F. Laisa, said the search target was focused on the Bantimurung limestone mountain area, specifically in Leang-leang Village, Maros Regency. The location was also used as the nearest Basarnas post to coordinate the search and rescue operations.
He explained that the continued search was planned to be carried out by an Air Force helicopter flight with Basarnas which was scheduled to start at 16.25 WITA.
On Saturday, January 17, the Directorate General of Air Transportation received an initial report regarding the loss of contact with the ATR 42-500 aircraft operated by Indonesia Air Transport, the holder of Air Operator Certificate (AOC) 034. The aircraft was built in 2000 with serial number 611 and was carrying out a flight from Yogyakarta Adi Sucipto to Makassar Sultan Hasanuddin.
The aircraft was piloted by the Pilot in Command Captain Andy Dahananto. Based on the latest chronology, at 04.23 UTC the aircraft was directed by the Makassar Area Terminal Service Center Air Traffic Control to approach runway 21 of the Sultan Hasanuddin Airport, Makassar.
During the approach process, the aircraft was identified as not being on the appropriate approach path. ATC then gave the crew instructions to correct the position to return to the landing path according to procedure.
ATC then conveyed a number of follow-up instructions. However, after the last direction was given, communication with the aircraft was lost or lost contact. Following up on this condition, ATC immediately declared the DETRESFA emergency phase or Distress Phase in accordance with applicable provisions and procedures.
AirNav Indonesia Branch MATSC immediately coordinated with the Rescue Coordination Center of the Central Basarnas and the Maros Regional Police through the Airport Police Chief to support the search and rescue steps. Meanwhile, the Sultan Hasanuddin Airport Makassar has prepared the opening of the Crisis Center at the Departure Terminal as a coordination and information center for related parties.
AirNav Indonesia is also preparing to issue a Notice to Airmen or NOTAM related to search and rescue activities so that all flights passing through the area can adjust their operations.
Lukman said that the number of people on board the plane was reported to be 10 people, consisting of seven crew members and three passengers. Initial information regarding the weather conditions during the incident showed a visibility of about eight kilometers with slightly cloudy weather conditions in the surrounding area.
However, further details and confirmation regarding weather factors are still in the process of coordination with the Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics Agency. The Directorate General of Air Transportation emphasized that it would continue to carry out intensive coordination through the Makassar Regional Airport Authority Office together with AirNav Indonesia, Basarnas, airline operators, the Indonesian Air Force, and other related agencies.
This step was taken to monitor the development of the situation in real time and ensure that all emergency handling procedures run optimally. The Ministry of Transportation also ensures that information updates will be delivered periodically in accordance with official developments in the field.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
