Small plane with 4 on board missing in Kalimantan
Saturday, August 25 2012 - 09:57 AM WIB
The plane left Samarinda airport on Friday morning.
Samarinda's airport chief Rajoki Aritonang as quoted by thehindubusinessline.com said that two rescue helicopters were flying close to the route the Piper PA-31 Navajo aircraft was taking before it lost contact with authorities yesterday morning minutes after takeoff from the airport in Samarinda.
Aritonang said that satellite images showed the aircraft?s latest position on last afternoon was within the Kutai National Park, about 30 km east of Bontang, a mining town, and that the plane was running critically low on fuel.
Rugged, forested terrain and bad weather prevented 75 rescuers from reaching the site by foot, and no trace of the plane has been found, said Indonesian search and rescue agency spokesman Gagah Prakoso.
The plane was chartered by Elliott Geophysics International, a Perth, Australia-based company, and failed to return from a surveying mission in Bontang.
It was carrying the pilot, two other Indonesians and the company?s Australian owner. They had left Samarinda yesterday for a 90-minute flight to survey a coal mining site, Aritonang said.
The Australian has been confirmed as Peter Elliott, founder and general manager of Perth-based survey company Elliott Geophysics International. (*)