Aviastar Mandiri

De Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter

On 2 October 2015, a DHC-6 Twin Otter, registered PK-BRM, was being operated by PT. Aviastar Mandiri as a scheduled passenger flight with flight number MV 7503. The aircraft departed from Andi Jemma Airport, Masamba (WAFM)1 with the intended destination of Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport, Makassar (WAAA) South Sulawesi, Indonesia. On board the flight were 10 persons consisting of two pilots and eight passengers, including one company engineer. The previous flights were from Makassar – Tana Toraja – Makassar – Masamba – Seko - Masamba and the accident flight was from Masamba to Makassar which was the 6th sector of the day. The aircraft departed from Masamba at 1425 LT (0625 UTC2 ) with an estimated time of arrival at Makassar of 0739 UTC. The Pilot in Command (PIC) acted as Pilot Flying (PF) while the Second in Command (SIC) acted as Pilot Monitoring (PM). The flight was conducted under the Visual Flight Rules (VFR) and cruised at an altitude of 8,000 feet. At 0630 UTC, the pilot reported to Ujung Pandang Information officer that the aircraft passed an altitude of 4,500 feet and was climbing to 8,000 feet. The Ujung Pandang Information officer requested the pilot of the estimate time of aircraft position at 60 Nm out from MKS VOR/DME. At 0632 UTC, the pilot discussed about the calculation of estimate time to reach 60 Nm out from MKS and afterward the pilot informed Ujung Pandang Information officer that the estimate at 60 Nm was at 0715 UTC. At 0633 UTC, the Ujung Pandang Information officer informed the pilot to call when reaching 8,000 feet and was acknowledged by the pilot. At 0636 UTC, the pilot informed the Ujung Pandang Information officer that the aircraft had reached 8,000 feet and requested the squawk number (ATC transponder code). The Ujung Pandang Information officer acknowledged and gave the squawk number of A5616, which was acknowledged by the pilot. At 0637 UTC, the pilots discussed to fly direct to BARRU. BARRU is a town located at about 45 Nm north of Makassar. Both pilots agreed to fly direct and the SIC explained the experience of flying direct on the flight before. At 0651 UTC, the PIC told the SIC that he wanted to climb and one second later the CVR recorded the sound of impact.

De Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter

The twin engine aircraft departed Dekai Airport at 1530LT on a cargo flight to Wamena, carrying three crew members and a load of 1,600 kilos of various goods. Between 1554LT and 1600LT, the crew was in contact with Wamena. At 1601LT, while cruising at an altitude of 9,600 feet in limited visibility, the aircraft collided with a mountain slope. The wreckage was found a day later about 19 km southeast from Wamena. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all three occupants were killed.

BAe 146

On the morning of 9 April 2009, a British Aerospace BAe 146-300 aircraft, registered PK-BRD, was being operated by PT. Aviastar Mandiri Airlines as a scheduled passenger and cargo flight from Sentani Airport to Wamena Airport, Papua. The crew consisted of two pilots, two flight attendants, an engineer, and a load master. The aircraft performed a go-around from the initial landing approach on runway 15 at Wamena. The flight crew positioned the aircraft on a right downwind leg for another landing approach. As the aircraft was turned towards the final approach for the second landing approach at Wamena it impacted terrain and was destroyed. All of the occupants were fatally injured. The Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS) manufacturer performed simulations using data from the flight recorders, and two separate terrain data sources. The manufacturer informed the investigation that “the GPWS/EGPWS alerts recorded in the CVR were issued as designed”. However the enhanced Look-Ahead function appeared to have been inhibited following the go around. There was no evidence from the CVR that the crew had deliberately inhibited the terrain function of the EGPWS. The investigation determined that the EGPWS issued appropriate warnings to the flight crew, in the GPWS mode. The pilot in command did not take appropriate remedial action in response to repeated EGPWS warnings. The investigation concluded that flight crew’s lack of awareness of the aircraft’s proximity with terrain, together with non conformance to the operator’s published operating procedures, resulted in the aircraft’s impact with terrain. As a consequence of this accident, the operator took safety action to address deficiencies in its documentation for missed approach procedures at Wamena. As a result of this accident, the National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC) also issued safety recommendations to the operator and to the Directorate General Civil Aviation (DGCA) to ensure that relevant documented safety procedures are implemented. During the investigation, safety issues were identified concerning modification of aircraft and DGCA approval of those modifications. While those safety issues did not contribute to the accident, they nevertheless are safety deficiencies. Accordingly, the NTSC report includes recommendations to address those identified safety issues.