A small plane crashed on approach to Bumi Panua Pohuwato Airport in Indonesia on Sunday morning. Tragically, the accident killed all four people onboard the aircraft. 

Details of the Accident

On Sunday, October 20th, a de Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter 300 aircraft registered as PK-SMH departed Djalaluddin Gorontalo Airport at around 7:03 a.m. The 49-year-old aircraft was operating a SAM Air flight to a nearby town about 50 miles west of the Gorontalo province’s capital airport.

However, shortly before arrival at Bumi Panua Pohuwato Airport at around 7:22 a.m., ten minutes before the expected arrival time, air traffic controllers suddenly lost contact with the aircraft. 

Several hours later, the aircraft wreckage was discovered in a swampy area near runway 27 of Pohuwato Airport. The plane was found destroyed, with the front half of the aircraft dramatically compressed and the wings ripped off the body of the plane. 

According to search and rescue officials, the “plane crashed into a shrimp pond area not far from the airport.” Later, the crash site was determined to be about 300 meters (0.2 miles) from the sole runway at the airport. 

Two pilots, M. Saefurubi and copilot M. Arthur VG, mechanic Budijanto, and passenger Sri Mayke Male, were among the four deceased passengers.

Acting Governor of Gorontalo Rudy Salahuddin expressed his condolences to the families of the victims: “The Gorontalo provincial authority mourns the plane crash near Pohuwato Airport that killed four people.”

“We are with the families of the victims at this time of grief," Salahuddin stated on Sunday.

Local meteorology agencies reported the weather at the time of the crash was cloudy, which may have created low visibility conditions that impacted the operation of the flight. However, the official cause of the crash is still under investigation and has not been determined. 

About SAM Air

Semuwa Aviasi Mandiri (SAM) Air was founded in 2019 and operates charter services and operated charter services with its two aircraft, a Cessna Caravan and the doomed De Havilland Canada Twin Otter. 

However, in June 2023, SAM Air experienced another deadly crash that killed six people. The Cessna caravan registered as PK-SMW lost contact with controllers and crashed 16 miles (12 kilometers) southeast of Elelim Airport in a heavily forested area. 

In addition, days before the deadly 2023 crash, the same DHC-6 Twin Otter involved in Sunday’s accident suffered a runway excursion at Pattimura Ambon Airport in Indonesia. The aircraft was making a 180-degree turn on the runway when a tire failed, causing the aircraft to sink into soft ground. 

In January 2023, the aircraft experienced another runway incident at Beoga Airport in Papa, which caused severe damage to its right wing.