Merpati Boeing 737 skids off the runway at Manokwari
MANOKWARI, Indonesia ( Airline Industry Review ) -
A Merpati Nusantara Airlines ( IATA : MZ ) Boeing 737-300, performing flight MZ 836, skidded off the runway at Rendani Airport ( IATA : MKW ) , Manokwari, Indonesia early Tuesday.
Photo copyright Indonesian media
The aircraft had been carrying 103 passengers and crew, including 76 men, 21 women, three children and three infants .
All of the crew and passengers had evacuated safely and around 21 people with injuries have been admitted to the hospital.
The aircraft had reportedly overshot the runway in bad weather and was lying around 300m from the runway threshold.
Merpati had six 737-300s in its fleet, all of which had been built after 1988.
Aircraft registration is PK-MDF, which had first flown in 1990. The aircraft had been originally delivered to TACA, and thereafter been in service with Frontier and PT AWAir/Indonesia AirAsia. Merpati had taken delivery of the aircraft in September, 2009. This flight had reportedly originated in Sorong, West Papua, Indonesia.
Merpati is in EU’s banned airlines list and had quite a few safety related issues in the past. However it had had no major 737-300 incidents in the past. Although there had been one instance of a landing gear wheel falling off on take-off in a 737-400.
The original post, in its original form – as it was updated minute by minute, can be seen below.
BREAKING NEWS :
A Boeing 737-300 has crashed near an Indonesian airport in West Papua.
Below is the first media image
Photo copyright reserved to local Indonesian media.
Await more details.
UPDATE 1 : This seems to be a Merpati Nusantara plane. They had five of the type. No mainstream media has picked up this story yet. Information is scare right now. Keep an eye on this page.
UPDATE 2 : JAKARTA (BNO NEWS) — A Boeing
737-300 belonging to Merpati
Nusantara Airlines crashed near
an airport in Indonesia’s West
Papua Province on early Tuesday,
officials said.
At least 20 people were injured
when the aircraft, which was
carrying 103 passengers and
crew, crashed approximately 300
meters from the runway at
Manokwari Airport. Indonesian
media reported that the plane
may have overshot the runway
before it crashed nearby. Pictures
showed the heavily damaged
aircraft in a stream of water.
Further details were not
immediately available.
[...] [...]