Indonesian authorities confirmed on Friday that all victims from the Indonesia Air Transport ATR 42-500 aircraft that crashed on Mount Bulusaraung in South Sulawesi province have been recovered, bringing closure to a seven day search and rescue operation in treacherous mountain terrain.
Colonel Dody Triyo Hadi, an officer with the Indonesian army involved in the joint search and rescue operation, announced that the tenth and final body was discovered at 8:59 a.m. local time on Friday. The recovery was made by the Eagle Team working alongside joint Search and Rescue (SAR) forces.
“The 10th victim has been found by the Eagle Team together with the joint SAR forces,” Hadi stated at the joint SAR Command Post. “With this discovery, all victims and critical items from the aircraft have been located.”
The ATR 42-500, registered as PK-THT, crashed on January 17 while en route from Yogyakarta to Makassar carrying ten people, comprising seven crew members and three passengers who were conducting a maritime surveillance mission for the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries.
The aircraft lost contact with air traffic control at approximately 1:17 p.m. local time on Saturday, January 17, after controllers instructed the crew to correct their approach alignment to Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport in Makassar. The plane disappeared from radar in the Leang-Leang area of Maros, a mountainous district in South Sulawesi province.
Debris from the aircraft was first located on Sunday morning, January 18, when a rescue helicopter crew spotted what appeared to be a small aircraft window in a forested area on the slope of Mount Bulusaraung. Ground teams later discovered larger debris including the main fuselage and tail section scattered on a steep northern slope of the mountain.
Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) classified the crash as Controlled Flight Into Terrain (CFIT), indicating the plane crashed against the mountain slope while still under the pilot’s control, causing it to disintegrate upon impact.
“We call it a CFIT, which indicates that the plane crashed against a hill or mountain slope, causing it to disintegrate upon impact,” KNKT Chief Soerjanto Tjahjono explained during a briefing at Hasanuddin International Airport on January 18.
Tjahjono clarified that despite being termed controlled, such cases are almost always unintentional. He emphasized that the aircraft remained under the pilot’s control when it crashed, but this does not mean the pilot intentionally caused the accident.
The three passengers have been identified as patrol vessel analyst Ferry Irawan, state asset manager Deden Mulyana, and aerial photo operator Yoga Naufal, all employees of the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries. The crew was led by Captain Andi Dahananto along with six other crew members, including cabin crew member Florencia Lolita.
So far, only two victims have been formally identified, with the remaining bodies undergoing forensic identification through medical examinations. SAR teams recovered bodies in varying conditions throughout the week long operation, transporting them from the remote crash site for proper identification.
The search and rescue operation faced significant challenges due to adverse weather conditions, strong winds, heavy fog and steep, rugged terrain that complicated access to the crash site. Photos and videos released by the National Search and Rescue Agency showed rescuers trekking along steep, narrow mountain ridgelines blanketed in thick fog to reach scattered wreckage.
The aircraft’s black box flight recorder was recovered from the crash site by the joint search and rescue team, providing crucial data for investigators examining the cause of the accident. The KNKT continues investigating the fatal crash and has refrained from speculating on possible human or technical errors pending completion of the inquiry.
Marine Affairs and Fisheries Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono expressed condolences on the night of the crash, explaining that the aircraft was part of the ministry’s routine air surveillance program conducted in collaboration with Indonesia Air Transport. The surveillance mission aimed to monitor maritime resources and fisheries activity in the region.
The ATR 42-500 involved in the crash was 25 years old at the time of the accident, having first been delivered in 2000 to Air Dolomiti before being acquired by Indonesia Air Transport in 2010. The aircraft had been operating domestic routes and specialized missions including government surveillance operations.
Indonesian authorities have expressed condolences to the families of the victims and pledged continued support for the identification process and the ongoing investigation into the cause of the crash. The Transportation Ministry has indicated that weather conditions are among the factors being examined, though no conclusions have been reached.
Indonesia relies heavily on air transport to connect its more than 17,000 islands spread across the vast archipelago. The Southeast Asian country has been plagued by transportation accidents in recent years, including plane and bus crashes as well as ferry sinkings, raising ongoing concerns about safety standards.
The crash site on Mount Bulusaraung is located within Bantimurung-Bulusaraung National Park, spanning parts of the Maros and Pangkajene and Islands regencies in South Sulawesi. Local residents reported witnessing an explosion and seeing smoke in the mountain area around the time the aircraft went missing.
The joint search and rescue operation involved multiple agencies including the National SAR Agency (Basarnas), the Indonesian Air Force, police, military units and local government personnel. Air force helicopters, drones and ground units participated in the extensive search across difficult mountain terrain.
ATR, the French-Italian aircraft manufacturer, stated that its specialists were fully engaged to support the operator and the Indonesian led investigation. The company has extensive experience with the ATR 42 series, which has been widely used for regional aviation worldwide.
The Civil Aviation Directorate General (DGCA) reported it has been coordinating intensively with the Makassar airport authority, Basarnas, the Indonesian air force and other agencies to ensure optimal response throughout the incident. The investigation into the crash continues as authorities work to determine the exact sequence of events that led to the tragedy.
