MERPATI AIRLINES LOST CONTACT IN PAPUA

Indonesian rescue personnel are searching for a Merpati Nusantara turboprop aircraft reportedly missing on a domestic flight over the Papua region.

Indonesian authorities have suspended a land and air search for a Merpati Nusantara flight that lost contact with air traffic controllers Sunday morning over the rugged Papua forest in eastern Indonesia until Monday.

A search flight dispatched over Abmisibil in Pengunungan Bintang regency, Papua, has reported having spotted a missing Merpati Airlines Twin Otter plane in the area.

The regency police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Maikel informed Antara news agency that Erich and Mak, pilot and co-pilot of an Association of Missionairy Aviation (AMA) plane, located the missing plane at around 6.35 a.m. (4.35 a.m. Jakarta time).

Amisibil is located three miles off Oksibil, the regency's capital.

The Twin Otter plane, which was carrying 16 people on board, first went missing on Sunday when the plane lost contact with the monitoring officials on the ground. It was flying between the Papuan capital of Jayapura and Oksibil.

Merpati said pilot Frans Noble and co-pilot Dedi Sudrahat, a mechanic, 11 adult passengers and two babies were onboard the plane.

The DeHavilland DHC6 Twin Otter aircraft was on a scheduled flight from Sentani, a major airport in Papua, to the Papuan town of Oksibil, when contact was lost about 40 minutes into the 50 minute flight.

Captain Nikmatullah, director of operations for Merpati Nusantara, who like many Indonesians uses just one name, said the flight was carrying 13 passengers, including two babies, and a crew of three.

Indonesian Transportation Ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan said contact with the aircraft was lost while it was flying at a height of 9,500 feet (2,895 meters) over the heavily forested Papuan terrain.

Indonesia, a country comprised of more than 18,000 islands, relies heavily on air and sea transport and has seen a number of air crashes in recent years.

Travel by aircraft is the only way to travel around Papua, much of which is covered with impenetrable jungles and mountains. In the past, crashed planes there have never been found.

Two weeks ago, the EU took four Indonesian airlines – Garuda, Mandala Airlines, Airfast Indonesia and Premiair – off its list of carriers banned from entering its airspace, citing “considerable improvements”.

However, all other Indonesian airlines, including Merpati Nusantara, remain on the list.

Indonesian Police and the military will join the search at first light Monday, with the air search being hampered by poor weather conditions in the region.