Incident Overview
Merpati flight 5840, operating an aircraft registered as PK-MJD, was on a scheduled passenger flight from Sultan Hasanuddin Airport in Makassar to El Tari Airport in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara. The flight carried 94 persons on board: 88 passengers (including four children and four infants), two pilots, four flight attendants, and one maintenance engineer. The Second in Command acted as pilot flying, while the Pilot in Command served as pilot monitoring.
Sequence of Events
During the approach to Kupang, the pilot selected the landing gear to the down position. The left main landing gear indicator light showed red, indicating that the left main landing gear was not in the down position and was unsafe for landing. The pilot reported the situation to the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) and initiated a go-around, requesting an area to hold while troubleshooting the problem. ATC cleared the aircraft to hold over Kupang Bay.
In the holding area, the pilots attempted to resolve the issue by following the emergency checklist procedures, including selecting the landing gear using the alternate selector. The pilot then requested ATC permission to fly at low altitude over the airport so that ground personnel could visually inspect the landing gear condition. Additionally, the pilot contacted the company radio to ask an engineer on the ground to observe the gear visually. After these efforts, the aircraft returned to the holding area, and the procedures were repeated without success.
Decision and Landing
The pilots and the on-board engineer discussed the situation and decided to attempt an unprocedural method to lower the landing gear. Prior to these attempts, the pilot informed the passengers about the problem and warned that the maneuvers might be unpleasant. After all attempts to lower the left main landing gear failed, the pilot decided to land with the gear in the up position. The flight attendants were instructed to prepare for an abnormal landing.
ATC coordinated with airport firefighting and ambulance services, as well as local police, armed forces, and hospitals, requesting additional ambulances. The pilot was informed that ground support was ready. On short final, the pilot instructed "brace for impact," and the flight attendants relayed the instruction to all passengers.
The aircraft touched down on runway 07 within the touchdown zone. The pilot flying kept the left wing raised as long as possible and maintained the aircraft on the centerline, while the pilot monitoring shut down both engines. The aircraft came to a stop approximately 1,200 meters from the beginning of runway 07, on the left shoulder. The flight attendants instructed passengers to remain calm and evacuate. Evacuation was performed through all door and window exits. No injuries were reported in this serious incident.