Ministry of Transportation: Smart Air plane lands in emergency due to engine failure

Smart Air's caravan type PK-SNS aircraft from Nabire to Kaimana, Tuesday (27/1) entered the Nabire beach, 15 passengers and crew were reported safe. (ANTARA/HO-Nabire Police)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Transportation stated that the Smart Air C208B aircraft with registration PK-SNS on the Nabire (NBX) - Kaimana (KNG) route made an emergency landing at Douw Aturure Nabire Airport, Central Papua, Tuesday afternoon, due to engine failure.

"The initial report received, the plane experienced a disturbance in the engine. Then the Pilot in Command (PIC) Capt. Tania K decided to Return to Base (RTB). However, due to the thrust power decreasing, the PIC decided to make an emergency landing at the end of the runway 17 of Douw Aturure Airport," said Director General of Air Transportation, Lukman FLaisa, as reported by ANTARA, Tuesday, January 27.

Thrust power or thrust in an aircraft is the force produced by the aircraft engine to push the aircraft forward so that it can move, take off, climb, and maintain speed in the air.

Lukman said that the aircraft was being towed to the beach. There were no casualties in the incident and all passengers and crew were safely evacuated to the airport terminal. The total number of passengers and crew was 13 people.

"The Directorate General of Air Transportation continues to carry out intensive coordination through the UPBU Douw Aturure Nabire with airline operators, TNI, police, and other related parties to ensure that the handling of the situation is safe and under control," he said.

The Directorate General of Air Transportation of the Ministry of Transportation will conduct further inspections to find out the cause of this incident.