Frontier Airports and Pioneer Flights

Citing bad weather as the reason for an airplane accident is a common occurrence, and such an excuse fits well with the lie of the land in Papua. Its vast areas are studded with mountains and narrow landing spaces are built on valleys between hillsides. When the weather turns bad, the airplane risks hitting a hillside or the pilot would reduce its altitude without noticing the mountain in front of him.

The Trigana Air plane flying from Jayapua to Oksibil, carrying 54 passengers, among them the five crew members, hit the side of a hill at Okbape District, in the regency of Pegunungan Bintang, last week. The plane burst into flames when it crashed, killing all passengers. Yet the weather was reported to be clear that day, with a five-kilometer visibility, appropriate conditions for flying. Moreover, this was the second flight on the same route that day. At the helm was an experienced pilot.