What happened
On 2 August 2009, flight MZ-7960D, a de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter operated by PT. Merpati Nusantara Airlines, departed from Sentani Airport in Jayapura. The flight was intended for Oksibil Airport and was being conducted under visual flight rules. The aircraft, registered PK-NVC, was carrying a total of 15 people, including two pilots, an engineer, 10 adults, and two infants. The flight was expected to last approximately 50 minutes, and the aircraft was carrying enough fuel for nearly three hours of flight.
Roughly 15 minutes before the scheduled arrival at the destination, the crew received a report from another aircraft regarding partly cloudy weather conditions near Oksibil. Following this communication, the aircraft ceased all radio contact and failed to arrive at its destination. A search operation was launched once the aircraft reached its projected fuel exhaustion time.
On 4 August 2009, the wreckage was discovered at an altitude of approximately 9,300 feet, located about 6 nautical miles from Oksibil. The impact of the crash destroyed the airframe, and all 15 fatalities were recorded.
Findings
- The aircraft was destroyed upon impact with the terrain.
- The search was initiated based on the calculated time of fuel depletion.