Planes Airworthy Despite Crash: Merpati

Fidelis E. Satriastanti & Camelia Pasandaran -

Saturday’s deadly plane crash in West Papua will not stop Merpati Nusantara Airlines from continuing to use the rest of its MA60 twin turboprop aircraft or affect a deal to import more of the Chinese-made planes.

The plane that crashed in waters off Kaimana district killing at least 22 of the 25 people on board was from a batch of 15 MA60s purchased in 2006 by the state-owned airline from Xi’an Aircraft Industry Company .

As of Monday evening, three victims of the crash were still listed as missing.

Transportation Minister Freddy Numberi said 13 of the 15 planes had already been delivered and the last two were due to arrive later this month. He added that the government was not able to back out of the $232 million contract that was partly funded with a soft loan from Beijing .

Some aviation officials and lawmakers have questioned the use of the planes, which are not certified by the US Federal Aviation Administration.

Merpati president director Sardjono Jhony Tjitrokusumo said on Monday that FAA certification was not needed because the planes had already been approved by Chinese authorities.

“We have already conducted test flights,” he said. “Their performance is good, their engines are good. I would not jeopardize the lives of our crews with airplanes that are not up to scratch.”

Planes that only fly domestic routes do not need international certification to operate in Indonesian airspace.

The airline said it would continue using the aircraft to service its routes in the country’s east, including from Denpasar to airports in East and West Nusa Tenggara and between cities in Papua and West Papua.

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