Two die in helicopter accident

Two die in helicopter accident

Multa Fidrus and Desy Nurhayati , The Jakarta Post , Tangerang Fri, 01/30/2009 8:07 AM Headlines

Two technicians died and two were seriously injured when a Pelita Air Service helicopter flew apart during a test flight at Pondok Cabe Airbase in Pamulang district, Tangerang regency, on early Thursday.
The dead were identified as Ahmad Suparja, 52, and Sri Setiabudi, 42, and the injured as helicopter pilot Rahman Adi and onboard mechanic Hardi.
South Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Chairil Anwar, who arrived at the scene soon after the crash, told reporters that both Ahmad and Setiabudi, who had been on the ground when the incident occurred, had died instantly when they were hit by the helicopter’s rotors.
He said the pilot and the mechanic had taken off on a test flight after maintenance work had been completed on the aircraft.
“During the test, the helicopter suddenly began to shake. The rotors broke, came off immediately and hit two mechanics standing nearby. They died instantly,” Chairil said, adding that the cause of the accident was not clear.
“We have yet to question the pilot and the mechanic because they were very shocked.”
The victims’ bodies were taken to Fatmawati Hospital in South Jakarta and were later returned to their families.
The families of the victims cried out in horror when they identified the bodies at the hospital.
Ahmad’s son, Amirul Mufasir, said his father had told him hours before the accident to take care of his grandchildren.
“He also told us to keep the family united,” Amirul was quoted as saying by Antara news agency.
Pelita Air Service vice president Herlis Sumanjuntak said that the 18-passenger capacity French-made Super Puma helicopter dating from 1982 had been grounded for repair work on Jan. 27 and that it had not been flight worthy.
“The helicopter was not flight worthy because it needed two pilots to fly it,” he said in Jakarta.
Chairman of the National Commission for Transportation Safety (KNKT), Tatang Kurniadi, said: “We have assigned our officers to further investigate. We will later report our findings to the Transportation Ministry and give recommendations."
The Transportation Ministry has assigned two investigators to the case, ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan said.