Monday, April 12, 2010

Merpati Nusantara Boeing 737 crash in West Papua

by B. N. Sullivan

Merpati Nusantara B737A Boeing 737-300 aircraft (registration PK-MDE) operated by Indonesia's Merpati Nusantara Airlines was seriously damaged in an accident at Rendani Airport, Manokwari, West Papua. No fatalities have been reported among the six crew members and 86 passengers on board, however at least 20 people were hospitalized with injuries. It was unclear if the injured were passengers or crew. [Update: The Aviation Herald reports that no crew members were injured.]

The accident occurred shortly before 11:00 AM local time on April 13, 2010 as the aircraft, operating as flight MZ-836, was arriving at Manokwari from Sorong, West Papua. News reports from Indonesia indicate that upon landing in poor weather, the aircraft overran the runway by several hundred meters. It came to rest in a river, with its fuselage broken in two.

An accident investigation team has been dispatched to the scene from Jakarta.

[Photo Source]