Many Passengers Hurt When Aircraft Skids Off Indonesian Runway

According to authorities, a jet carrying 48 people went off the runway on Monday in the isolated eastern province of Papua, Indonesia, hurting multiple people on board.

The aviation safety record of the Southeast Asian archipelago is not good, and Papua is a hilly region with regular bad weather that makes flying difficult.

On Monday morning, as the Trigana Air ATR-42 was taking flight from an airstrip in the isolated Yapen Islands regency to the capital Jayapura, Papua, it skidded off the runway.

Along with six crew members, the airplane carried 42 passengers, including a newborn.

Chief of police for the area, Ardyan Ukie Hercahyo, released a statement saying, “Thank God, everyone survived and has been taken to a hospital for a health checkup.”

“To make sure this doesn’t happen again, we are looking into the incident and working with relevant parties.”

A statement from the local search and rescue organization stated that the incident left some passengers hurt and traumatized.

Indonesia’s dozens of islands are connected by air, however getting to Papua can be extremely challenging.

There was a 2015 Trigana Air plane crash that claimed the lives of all 54 occupants.