Flight History
On 28 January 2008, a Boeing B737-300 aircraft, registered PK-MBP, operated by PT. Merpati Nusantara Airlines, departed from Sentani Airport, Jayapura, Papua, as flight number MZ774. The flight was destined for Mopah Airport, Merauke. On board were 147 persons: 124 adult passengers, 10 children, 7 infants, and a crew of six comprising two pilots and four cabin crew.
During the descent to Merauke, air traffic control cleared the crew for a visual approach to land on runway 16. The controller reported no obstructions on the runway at that time.
Accident Sequence
During the landing roll, the pilot observed a cow entering the active runway and running across in front of the aircraft. When the aircraft was approximately 1,000 meters from the runway 16 threshold, the left engine struck the cow. The pilots stopped the aircraft on the runway and shut down the left engine. The cabin crew informed the pilots that the left engine cowling was damaged.
Occupant Status
The aircraft's occupants were not injured. They disembarked from the aircraft unaided using air stairs at the apron.
Aircraft and Airport Information
The investigation found that the airport did not meet the requirements of ICAO Annex 14, Volume 1, Paragraph 9.10.2, Standard, or the intent of Civil Aviation Safety Regulation (CASR) 139 Subparts 4.2 and 4.12. The airport perimeter was not fenced, and there was no other appropriate means of preventing animals large enough to be a hazard to aircraft from entering the aircraft movement area.
The cockpit voice recorder was unserviceable and no useful information was recorded during the accident flight.
Recommendations
The National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC) made recommendations to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to require airport operators to control access and prevent unauthorised entry of persons, vehicles, equipment, or animals onto the movement area of all Indonesian airports. The NTSC also recommended to PT. Merpati Nusantara Airlines to review procedures for ensuring flight data and cockpit voice recorders meet manufacturer specifications, and to review aerodrome briefing material to include caution notices on charts when an airport lacks adequate access control.