What happened
On 12 February 2011, a CASA C212-100, registration PK-ZAI, departed from Hang Nadim Airport in Batam to perform a test flight. The flight was being conducted by Sabang Merauke Raya Air Charter (SMAC) following the replacement of the aircraft's number one engine. The flight crew and passengers included two pilots and three company engineers.
During the flight over the Tanjung Pinang Island region, the aircraft was tracked by Tanjung Pinang Approach radar. At 0628 UTC, controllers noted the aircraft at an altitude of 2000 feet. Although the aircraft was granted clearance to climb to 4000 feet at 0633 UTC, it vanished from radar surveillance at 0644 UTC. The final radar contact placed the aircraft 16 miles on a 010-degree radial from Tanjung Pinang airport.
After losing contact with the aircraft, air traffic controllers attempted to use other aircraft to locate the plane, but no communication could be established. Shortly after, reports from the Indonesian Air Force Base at Gunung Bintan indicated that an aircraft had crashed within the Gunung Kijang forest on Bintan Island. Search and rescue teams, including the SAR Bureau, local police, and the Indonesian Army, located the wreckage approximately 30 km north of Tanjung Pinang Airport. The accident resulted in five fatalities, as all persons on board were killed. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.
Findings
No specific technical findings or contributing factors were provided in the source material regarding the cause of the disappearance.