PT Merpati Nusantara Airlines, operated as Merpati Nusantara Airlines, was an airline in Indonesia based in Central Jakarta, Jakarta. It operated scheduled domestic services to more than 25 destinations in Indonesia, as well as scheduled international services to East Timor and Malaysia. The word merpati is Indonesian for "dove", and Nusantara is a Javanese word found in the Pararaton meaning "the outer islands", referring to the Indonesian archipelago. The airline was based at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Jakarta. It also maintained both a maintenance and simulator facility at Juanda International Airport, Surabaya. The Merpati Training Centre at Surabaya housed Fokker F-27, AVIC MA60 and CN-235 full motion simulators.
The CASA/IPTN CN-235 is a medium-range twin-engined transport aircraft that was jointly developed by CASA of Spain and Indonesian manufacturer IPTN. It is operated as both a regional airliner and military transport; its primary military roles include air transport and aerial surveillance.
Indonesian Aerospace (IAe), is an Indonesian aerospace company involved in aircraft design and the development and manufacture of civilian and military regional commuter aircraft, and a subsidiary of state-owned electronics manufacturer Len Industri. The company was formerly known as PT Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara (Persero). It was expanded from a research and industrial facility under the auspices of the Indonesian Air Force, namely Lembaga Industri Penerbangan Nurtanio (LIPNUR) or Nurtanio Aviation Industry Institute.
Allegheny Airlines Flight 853 was a regularly scheduled Allegheny Airlines flight from Boston, Massachusetts, to St. Louis, Missouri, with stops in Baltimore, Maryland, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Indianapolis, Indiana. On September 9, 1969, the aircraft serving the flight, a McDonnell Douglas DC-9, collided in mid-air with a Piper PA-28 light aircraft near Fairland, Indiana. The DC-9 was carrying 78 passengers and 4 crew members, and the Piper was leased to a student pilot on a solo cross-country flight. All 83 occupants of both aircraft were killed in the accident and both aircraft were destroyed.
Hughes Airwest Flight 706 was a regularly scheduled flight operated by American domestic airline Hughes Airwest from Los Angeles, California to Seattle, Washington, with several intermediate stops. On Sunday, June 6, 1971, the McDonnell Douglas DC-9 serving as Flight 706 departed Los Angeles just after 6 p.m. en route to Seattle as a McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II of the United States Marine Corps was approaching Marine Corps Air Station El Toro near Irvine at the end of a flight from Naval Air Station Fallon in Nevada. The two aircraft collided in midair over the San Gabriel Mountains near Duarte, killing all 49 aboard the DC-9 and the F-4 pilot; the F-4 radar intercept officer ejected and survived.
Garuda Indonesia Flight 152 (GA152/GIA152) was a scheduled domestic flight operated by Garuda Indonesia from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Tangerang, to Polonia International Airport, Medan, in Indonesia. On 26 September 1997, the aircraft flying the route crashed into mountainous woodlands near the village of Buah Nabar, Sibolangit, killing all 222 passengers and 12 crew members on board. It is the deadliest aviation disaster in Indonesia's history.
Husein Sastranegara Airport is an airport in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia. It is located within the city and 2.4 km from Bandung Central train station. The site occupies an area of 145 hectares and serves the area of civil aviation in the south western region of Java. The airfield is conjoined with the Husein Sastranegara air force base of the Indonesian Air Force. Most of the commercial flights operations transferred from this to newly built Kertajati International Airport.
The Grand Canyon mid-air collision occurred in the western United States on June 30, 1956, when a United Airlines Douglas DC-7 struck a Trans World Airlines Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation over Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. The first plane fell into the canyon while the other slammed into a rock face. All 128 on board both airplanes perished, making it the first commercial airline incident to exceed one hundred fatalities. The airplanes had departed Los Angeles International Airport minutes apart from each other and headed for Chicago and Kansas City, respectively. The collision took place in uncontrolled airspace, where it was the pilots' responsibility to maintain separation. This highlighted the antiquated state of air traffic control, which became the focus of major aviation reforms.
Golden West Airlines Flight 261, a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter, collided with a Cessna 150 (N11421), owned by CessnAir Aviation, Inc., near Whittier, California. The accident occurred on January 9, 1975, at approximately 4:07 p.m. PST, while the Sun was just 9 degrees above the western horizon, directly into the eyes of the pilots of GW flight 261.
Texas International Airlines Flight 655, registration N94230, was a Convair 600 turboprop aircraft en route from El Dorado to Texarkana, Arkansas, crashing into Black Fork Mountain, Arkansas, on the night of September 27, 1973. The eight passengers and three crewmembers on board were killed.
American Airlines Flight 910, a four-engine Douglas DC-6 propliner, collided in mid-air with a single engine Temco Swift on final approach to Dallas Love Field on June 28, 1952, over Dallas, Texas. The DC-6 was carrying 55 passengers and 5 crew members from San Francisco, California. The DC-6 landed with no injuries to any of its 60 occupants, while both occupants of the two-person Swift died when their aircraft impacted the ground.
Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 9760D was a domestic commercial passenger 50-minutes flight, flying from Sentani Airport in Papua's Province Jayapura to Oksibil Airport in Oksibil, Indonesia operated by a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter 300. On Sunday, August 2, 2009, while carrying fifteen people over Papua, the aircraft went missing en route. Its wreckage was found a few miles from Oksibil two days later. All 12 passengers and 3 crew members were killed in the accident.
On August 8, 2009, at 11:53 a.m. (15:53 UTC), nine people died when a tour helicopter and a small private airplane collided over the Hudson River near Frank Sinatra Park in Hoboken, New Jersey, United States. The aircraft were in an area known as the "Hudson River VFR Corridor", which extends from the surface of the river to altitudes of 800 to 1,500 ft at various locations along the Hudson River in the immediate area of New York City. Within this corridor, aircraft operate under visual flight rules (VFR), under which the responsibility to see and avoid other air traffic rests with the individual pilots rather than with the air traffic controller (ATC).
Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 8968 (MZ8968/MNA8968) was a passenger flight which crashed off the coast of the Indonesian province of West Papua on 7 May 2011. The aircraft involved, a Xian MA60, was operating Merpati Nusantara Airlines' scheduled domestic service from Sorong to Kaimana, both in West Papua. It crashed into the sea while on approach to Kaimana in heavy rain condition, about 800 metres (2,600 ft) before the runway. All 25 people on board the aircraft perished. It remains the only fatal accident involving a Xian MA60.
Aviastar Flight 7503 was a regional flight from Masamba to Makassar, Indonesia. On 2 October 2015, the de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft serving the route went missing with 10 on board near Palopo minutes after takeoff. There was no distress call from the plane.
Sempati Air Flight 304 (SSR304) was a scheduled domestic passenger flight, flying from Husein Sastranegara International Airport in Bandung, West Java to Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in Jakarta. On 17 July 1997, the aircraft operating the flight, a Fokker F27 Friendship 600 leased from Trigana Air Service, registered PK-YPM, crashed into a densely populated neighbourhood of Margahayu in Bandung after suffering an engine failure shortly after take-off killing 28 of the occupants and injuring several on the ground.
Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 6517 (MZ6517/MNA6517) was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Bajawa to Kupang, Indonesia. On 10 June 2013, the Xian MA60 twin turboprop operating the route crashed on the runway while landing at Kupang's El Tari Airport, injuring 25 occupants, five seriously. The aircraft was severely damaged in the impact and subsequently written off.
Dirgantara Air Service Flight 5940 was an Indonesian domestic scheduled passenger flight, operated by military-owned airline Dirgantara Air Service, from South Kalimantan's provincial capital of Banjarmasin to Sampit, the capital of the East Kotawaringin Regency. On 7 December 1996, a CASA C-212 Aviocar registered as PK-VSO crashed into a gas plant shortly after take off from Syamsudin Noor International Airport. 17 people, including one on the ground, died at the scene, a 12-year-old child died on the way to the hospital, and a worker at the gas plant died at the hospital. One passenger, identified as 40-year-old Irianto, was the only survivor. The official investigation determined that the crew lost control of the plane after its right engine malfunctioned.
Garuda Indonesian Airways Flight 424 was a scheduled passenger flight on January 24, 1961, which crashed into Mount Burangrang, 15 km (9.3 mi) north of its destination. All 21 occupants were killed.
