Indonesian plane goes missing with 54 people on board

Mangalore Today News Network

Papua: August 16, 2015: An Indonesian domestic passenger aircraft carrying 54 people has lost contact with air traffic control in the remote eastern Papua region, the country’s national search and rescue agency said.

The plane was flying between Jayapura’s Sentani airport and Oksibil, the capital of Papua province.

Transportation ministry spokesman Julius Barata said the ATR42-300 twin turboprop lost contact with the airport nine minutes before it was scheduled to land.

The search and rescue agency tweeted to say the aircraft was operated by Trigana Air Service and carrying 44 adult passengers, five children and five crew members.


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The country of 250 million people and about 17,000 islands is one of Asia’s fastest-growing aviation markets, but is struggling to provide enough qualified pilots, mechanics, air traffic controllers and updated airport technology to ensure safety.

In January an AirAsia flight from from Surabaya in Indonesia to Singapore crashed into the sea, killing all 162 people on board the Airbus A320.

The crash prompted the Indonesian government to introduce regulations aimed at improving safety.

Last month Indonesia’s president promised a review of the ageing air force fleet after a military transport plane crashed in the north of the country, killing more than 100 people.