23 aircraft accidents in Indonesia since 2000

The ATR 42 belonging to IDA Indonesia Air Transport and operated for the Marine and Fisheries Resources Surveillance took off from Yogyakarta, Indonesia, for a flight to Makassar, Indonesia. Four crewmembers and six passengers were onboard. The plane crashed while on approach to Makassar's airport. The wreckage was later found in a mountainous area on Mount Bulu Saraung at about 4,300 feet. All 10 occupants were killed.

The Boeing 737-500 operated by Sriwijaya took off from Jakarta, Indonesia, for a passenger flight to Pontianak, Indonesia. 56 passengers and 6 crewmembers were onboard. The plane was climbing through about 10,800 feet MSL out of Jakarta when radar and radio contact was lost. Debris were located in water. No survivor has been found among the 62 occupants.

The Boeing 737-800 MAX operated by Lion Air took off from Jakarta, Indonesia, for a passenger flight to Pangkal Pinang, Indonesia. 181 passengers and 8 crewmembers were onboard. The plane crashed 35 NM (65 kilometers) northeast of Jakarta over the Java Sea about 13 minutes after takeoff. All 189 people onboard were killed. The plane took off at dawn, at 06h21 local time. Shortly after takeoff, the flight crew radioed the controller, requesting a return to the airport. The airline reported the aircraft encountered a technical problem. Radar indications showed the plane climbing erratically, barely reaching 5,400 feet (around 1600 meters), before quickly dropping and disappearing from radar. The wreckage of the twin-engine, narrow-body plane was detected in the Java Sea. Water depth at the site is about 30-35 meters. Weather was fine with light winds, scattered clouds at 2000 feet and a visibility of 8000 m. The aircraft was almost brand new, having flown just 800 hours. The plane is a new model of the Boeing best-selling 737, which first debuted in 1967. Boeing introduced the 737 MAX family of aircraft in 2011, using quieter engines and more fuel efficiency than previous models as selling points. This accident is the first of its kind for this variant of the Boeing 737. On November 7th 2018 the FAA released an Emergency Airworthiness Directive (EAD) 2018-23-51 concerning all Boeing 737 Max aircraft. This EAD states that “This emergency AD was prompted by analysis performed by the manufacturer showing that if an erroneously high single angle of attack (AOA) sensor input is received by the flight control system, there is a potential for repeated nose-down trim commands of the horizontal stabilizer. This condition, if not addressed, could cause the flight crew to have difficulty controlling the airplane, and lead to excessive nose-down attitude, significant altitude loss, and possible impact with terrain.”

The ATR-42-300 operated by Trigana Air took off from Jayapura, Indonesia, for a passenger flight to Oksibil, Indonesia. 49 passengers and 5 crewmembers were onboard. The contact with the plane was lost while the aircraft was approaching Oksibil. The wreckage was found one day later. All 54 occupants were killed. The short-haul airliner left Jayapura for Oksibil, about 170 miles to the south. The plane lost contact with air traffic controllers about 30 minutes after takeoff, and around 20 minutes before landing. The aircraft was found at an altitude of about 8,300 feet at the side of the Pegunungan Bintang Regency mountain, in a dense forest.

The Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport plane, operated by the Indonesian Air Force, took off from Medan, Indonesia, for a military flight to Tanjung, Indonesia. On board were a crew of 12 and 101 passengers. The plane crashed shortly after takeoff in a populated area. All 113 occupants were killed in the crash. 22 people on ground have been caught up in the crash and were killed. The plane took off from Medan-Soewondo Air Force Base, on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It was carrying Military personnel and their family members, students and other civilians (sometimes, Indonesian civilians also hitch rides on military flights to get to islands which might otherwise be inaccessible). The plane was also carrying logistical supplies to bases. Shortly after takeoff, the crew radioed that they were returning to base. About two minutes later the aircraft impacted buildings, crashed, and burst into flames. The crash site is 5 kilometers (3 NM) from the air base. Images from the scene showed crowds gathering around the wreckage of the plane amid damaged buildings and a burned-out car. Thick smoke rose from the smouldering debris as firefighters battled to put out the flames. The aircraft, built in the United States in the 1960s, had been inspected and cleared to fly before it took off from Medan.

The AirAsia Indonesia Airbus A320-200 took off from Surabaya, Indonesia, for a passenger flight to Singapore, Singapore. 155 passengers and 7 crewmembers were onboard. The plane disappeared from radar screen while it was enroute at FL320 over the Java Sea. Debris and bodies have been recovered in the Java Sea. All 162 people onboard were killed. The aircraft experienced difficult weather conditions with storm cells while it was cruising over the java sea at FL320. The crew requested to deviate left of its airway and to climb to FL380. At that time, the aircraft was observed normally. Due to other traffic the aircraft could not get cleared to FL380 instantly and was cleared to FL340 at first. When the aircraft was radioed with the clearance to climb to FL340, there was no response anymore, but the aircraft was still visible on radar screens (the ADS-B was still emitting). 1 minute later, the aircraft disappeared from radar screen. The last recorded position was about 110 NM East-South-East of Pulau Belitung. There were seven aircraft passing through the area at that time at flight levels between 290 and 380, neither of them encountered any difficulties. Debris and bodies of the aircraft have been located two days later, on Dec 30th 2014, in the Java Sea about 110 NM from Pulau Belitung, about 5 NM (8 km) from the last radar position. Bigger debris of what appeared to be the aircraft wreckage have been located 40 Nm (70 km) from the last radar position. Both black boxes (CVR and DFDR) have been founded more than two weeks after the accident, on January 13th 2015. AirAsia Indonesia did not have a license to fly the Surabaya-to-Singapore route the day the accident occurred. The airline was approved to fly the route four days a week but it did not include Sunday. AirAsia Indonesia is a subsidiary of the Malaysian-based AirAsia group. The parent company owns almost 49% of the Indonesian operation.

The Boeing 737-800 operated by Lion Air took off from Bandung, Indonesia, for a passenger flight to Denpasar, Indonesia. 101 passengers and 7 crewmembers were onboard. The plane went into the sea while landing at Denpasar Airport. All occupants were evacuated from the aircraft and have been taken to hospitals with minor injuries. The plane was new, and was in operation for just about two weeks. The flight was performed uneventfully. The aircraft was on approach to Denpasar's runway 09, about 100 feet below a 3 degrees glidepath. The airplane came down in the water a few hundred of meter away short of the runway threshold, and a few meters away from the sea wall. The wreckage of the Boeing 737-800 snapped in half before coming to a stop in shallow water. No emergency message had been received by the air traffic controller prior to the accident. All 101 passengers and seven crew members were safely evacuated. Some swam from the wreckage, while others were plucked from the water by rescuers in rubber boats. Dozens suffered injuries.

The Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) operated by Sukhoi was performing a demonstration flight for airline representatives and journalists in order to promote sales of the aircraft. The plane took off from Jakarta Airport and was expected to come back to Jakarta Airport after a short flight. 37 passengers, 6 crew and 2 Sukhoi officials were onboard. The plane vanished from radar screens and lost contact with ground controllers after about 30 minutes of flight. All 45 people onboard were killed. The jet was enroute at 10,000 feet near Mount Salak about 36 NM South of Jakarta about 30 minutes into the flight when the crew requested and was cleared to descend to 6,000 feet. This was the last radio transmission. Radar contact was lost when the aircraft was in a right hand turn descending through 6,200 feet between Mount Salak and Mount Gede. The aircraft wreckage was found the following morning on the slopes of Mount Salak at an elevation of about 5300 feet MSL (950 ft below the top of the mountain). The aircraft impacted the edge of a cliff. The wreckage is lying in a remote area, on an extremely steep terrain. Weather data reported do no suggest poor visibility; however there is possibility of local cloud at Mount Salak that may have reduced the visibility. Mount Salak is 2,211 meters/7,254 feet high, nearby Mount Gede is 2,958 meters/9,705 feet high. This newly designed passenger jet made in Russia made its maiden run in 2008. It was on a "Welcome Asia!" road show with stops in countries stretching from Pakistan to Laos and Vietnam.

The Boeing 737-400 operated by Sriwijaya Air took off from Jakarta, Indonesia, for a passenger flight to Yogyakarta, Indonesia. 131 passengers and crewmembers were onboard. While landing, the plane veered off the runway. The aircraft was evacuated, two passengers received injuries during the evacuation. The Boeing 737 had first aborted the approach to Yogyakarta due to weather conditions and diverted to Solo, however, again could not land in Solo due to weather and diverted to Surabaya. The weather conditions were reported improved in Yogyakarta and the crew decided to take off in order to land to Yogyakarta. However, strong rains were prevailing when the plane landed at Yogyakarta. After having touched down, the aircraft did not manage to stop before the runway end, veered left off runway and came to a stop on soft ground about 25 meters past and left of the runway end. The right main gear and the nose gear collapsed. The right engine and wing received substantial damage.

The Casa C-212-100 Aviocar operated by Nusantara Buana Airlines took off from Medan, Indonesia, for a passenger flight to Kutacane, Indonesia. 14 passengers and 4 crew were onboard. The plane crashed while on approach to Kutacane. All 18 occupants perished in that accident. The plane took off for a 35-minute flight. The plane went missing while on approach to its destination airport. Rescuers localized rapidly the wreckage on a steep slope of about 70 degrees at about 6000 feet of elevation (1800 meters), but as the plane crashed in a remote and difficult terrain, they were able to reach the wreckage only two days later. The plane was caught by the forest canopy as it crashed, leaving it lying on the jungle floor. The aircraft had sustained substantial damage to its front section as well as the aft section at the belly, further to the impact with the terrain at about 140 knots. However, there was no evidence of fire, and some parts of the aircraft (wings, centre section) are largely intact. Nevertheless, none of the aircraft doors had been opened, and all occupants were found dead in their seats. At the time of the accident, a cloud ceiling of 520 meters/1700 feet was reported.

The Xian MA-60 operated by Merpati Nusantara took off from Sorong, Indonesia, for a domestic flight to Kaimana, Indonesia. 21 passengers (including two airline technicians) and 4 crewmembers were onboard. The plane impacted water while on final approach to its destination airport. All 25 occupants perished in the crash. The airplane was holding for about 15 minutes before commencing the approach. The Chinese-built aircraft last reported its position about 15 NM (27 km) before touchdown and was on final approach to Kaimana's runway 19 when the aircraft impacted the ocean about 1800 ft (600 meters) before the runway threshold. The impact broke up the plane in two major parts. Then, the wreckage sank almost immediately. At the time of the accident, the weather was bad as there was heavy rainfall and thick fog. Reduced visibility was reported, with about 4000 meters.

The Casa C-212-100 Aviocar belonging to Sabang Merauke Raya Air Charter (S.M.A.C) took off from Batam, Indonesia, for a test flight, with a flight crew of two and three technicians on board. The plane was supposed to come back to Batam after the test. The plane disappeared from radar screen several minutes after takeoff. All the five occupants were killed. The airplane had just undergone maintenance in Batam, during which an engine had been changed. The plane then performed a test flight. It was enroute between Tanjung Berakit and the village of Malang Rapat (around 9 NM (17 km) South-South-East of Tanjung Berakit) about 30 minutes into the flight when the airplane disappeared from radar. The wreckage was later found in a mud puddle on the ground.

The Boeing 737-300, operated by Merpati Nusantara Airlines, took off from Sorong-Dominique Edward Osok Airport, Indonesia, bound for Rendani, Indonesia. 97 passengers and six crew members were onboard. The plane overshot the runway when landing at Rendani, before coming to a stop in a river bed. All 103 people onboard survived, but some 20 passengers reportedly sustained minor to serious injuries. The weather conditions were bad at the moment of the accident, with lot of rain and poor visibility. Isolated thunderstorm accompanied by heavy rain, lightning and fog could have been a culprit in hampering the visibility of the pilot. The plane touched down smoothly on its destination airport runway but it just didn't stop. It skidded off the runway, and came to a stop some 200 meters (650 ft) far from the runway threshold in a shallow river. The Merpati airline Boeing 737 broke in two pieces. Rendani Airport has a single runway, 17/35, measuring 2.000 m x 30 m.

The Merpati Nusantara Airlines DHC-6 Twin Otter passenger plane was reported missing when it failed to arrive at Oksibil Airport, Indonesia, after a domestic flight from Jayapura, Indonesia. The wreckage was found a few days later. 13 passengers and 3 crewmembers were onboard. There is no survivor. The plane took off normally from Jayapura for a 50-minute flight headed to Oksibil, about 175 miles (280 km) to the south. 13 minutes after takeoff, contact with the DHC-6 was lost. The Twin Otter came down in bad weather as it flew over the Papua region in eastern Indonesia. The rescue plane spotted the wreckage of the airplane 42 kilometres (26 miles) North of Oksibil Airport, on a mountainside at an elevation of 9300 feet, in a remote area.

The British Aerospace BAe-146-300 belonging to Aviastar Mandiri departed Jayapura, Indonesia, for a cargo flight to Wamena, Indonesia. 6 crewmembers were onboard. The plane crashed into Gunung Pike Mountain while on approach to Wamena, killing all the people onboard. The BAe-146 was carrying food and building supplies from the provincial capital, Jayapura, to the nearby district of Wamena, in the mountainous central region. It is not clear what caused the accident, but the plane would have attempted a first approach, that ended by a go-around. Then, the airplane entered clouds, struck the side of Gunung Pike Mountain and burst into flames.

The Indonesian Air Force Fokker F-27 Friendship 400M was returning to Bandung, Indonesia, from a parachuting exercise. Six crew, an instructor and 17 special forces trainees were onboard the aircraft. On landing the airplane hit a hangar near the runway threshold. None of the 24 on board survived. There were no other casualties on the ground. The Fokker 27 plane was returning from a regular training flight. It was supposed to land in Bandung, 110km southeast of Jakarta. The crash occurred as the pilot was trying to land in a heavy storm. There was a 20-knot crosswind at the time of the accident. The plane appeared to be shaking before diving to the ground and crashed on a hangar. The plane blew apart inside the hangar, which had several airplanes and helicopters inside.

The CASA 212-200 airplane, operated by an Indonesian private air chartered company Dirgantara Air Service, crashed in Malinau district during a cargo flight from Tarakan to East Kalimantan district. The plane took off Tarakan-Juwata Airport, Indonesia, bound for Long Apung Airport, Indonesia. The CASA 212 was carrying solar energy equipment. 3 crew members were onboard. The plane crashed while it was cruising over the jungle. Rescue teams founded the destroyed plane in the jungle. All three crew members were killed on the spot. Dirgantara Air Service was on the European airlines Black list at the time of the accident. The airline was also grounded last year by Indonesia's Air Transport Directorate General for failing to meet minimum safety standards. CASA C-212-200 The EADS CASA C-212-200 is a high wing, twin turboprop, multi-purpose aircraft, with a conventional structure and a fixed landing gear. Its ample and unobstructed cargo cabin with high floor strength can be quickly adapted for a variety of roles, such as personnel transport, cargo transport or Medevac. It can carry up to 25 soldiers, or payload up to 3,000 kg.

The Garuda airlines Boeing 737-400 was on a passenger flight from Jakarta, Indonesia, to the Java island’s city of Yogyakarta, Indonesia, with 140 passengers and crew members onboard. It overshot the runway of Yogyakarta airport and caught fire killing 23 people and injuring at least 90. The Indonesian Boeing 737-400 started shaking violently before landing at the Yogyakarta international airport, landed intact but then overshot the runway, hitting fences and stopping in a rice field. Some survivors said the fire began at the front the plane before engulfing the aircraft. Many occupants managed to escape the blazing plane. The aircraft landing speed may have been a factor in the crash. The plane landed intact but was not able to stop before the end of the 7215-feet runway that may point to excess speed being a factor. Failure or malfunction of the aircraft braking systems could also be a cause of the accident: the failure of one of the three braking system (wheel brake, spoilers or thrust reversers) significantly increases the landing distance. The plane could also have touch down too far from the runway threshold, hence reducing the landing distance available. The pilot says he felt a very powerful downdraft just before landing. Such wind shears have been blamed in other accidents involving commercial jetliners: the aircraft become slightly unstable and may start to shudder or shake. The plane may finally be pushed to the ground very rapidly. A standard way to restore control of the plane is to speed up and pitch up. During the landing phase, it must end up in a safe go-around. If the go-around is not performed, the plane could land too fast.

The Adam Air Boeing 737-400 plane flying between Indonesian islands with 96 passengers and six crew on board lost contact with the Air Traffic Controller while cruising at 35 000 ft (10 700 m). The plane was flying from Surabaya on Java Island to Manado on Sulawesi Island flying in poor weather conditions when it vanished 83 nautical miles northwest of Makassar, an hour away from its destination. The plane did not report any complaints about the navigation, the condition of the plane or other technical problems. After the Boeing disappeared, two signals from its emergency beacon - which is activated on impact - were picked up by a plane in the vicinity and a satellite. Part of a jetliner's tail, food trays and shards of fuselage were pulled from the sea in northeastern Indonesia, more than 10 days after the plane vanished. It is clear that the plane crashed somewhere in the ocean. Adam Air, a privately owned low-cost Indonesian airline, began operations in Indonesia several years ago and most of its flights are domestic.

The aircraft crashed while performing a scheduled passenger flight from Medan-Polonia Airport to Jakarta. Shortly after takeoff from Medan, survivors reported that the Boeing began to shake violently, veered left, and crashed into a residential area about 500m off the end of the runway. A failure of one engine could be the root cause of the crash said a transport safety official. "Preliminary investigations show a fuel problem on the engine" he said. The 9 survivors were seated in the same row.

The MD-82, on a passenger flight from Jakarta, with an intermediate stop in Surabaya, to Solo (Indonesia). On landing at Solo, the plane overran the runway, crashed through the airport perimeter fence, and came to rest in a graveyard. The forward portion of the fuselage was heavily damaged, and consumed by fire. 26 out of the 153 people onboard died.

The aircraft was on a passenger flight from Lombok to Yogyakarta (Indonesia) when the crew was forced to make an emergency landing in the Benjawang Solo River, approximately 14 miles (20 kilometers) from their destination airport of Yogyakarta. Weather at the time of the accident was poor. A flight attendant was reportedly killed in the accident.

The aircraft was on a local training flight when, while on approach for its eighth touch and go landing, it was seen to bank sharply left and crash. There was one instructor and two student Captains aboard. All of them were killed.