Tourists killed in Papua New Guinea plane crash
A charter plane carrying 13 people, including Australian and Japanese tourists, smashed into the side of a mountain in Papua New Guinea yesterday, killing all on board.
The wreckage of the Airlines PNG flight CG4684 was spotted earlier today just north of the village of Isurava in dense and rugged terrain about 5,500ft above sea level.
The crash site was so remote that two policemen had to be dropped into the jungle and hike to the crash site to search for survivors amid deteriorating weather conditions.
However the 11 passengers and two crew – nine Australians, one Japanese and three Papuans – are believed to have died on impact.
The Twin Otter aircraft had been scheduled to arrive at the remote Kokoda airstrip yesterday morning after a short journey from Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea. However, the flight was hampered by bad weather conditions which caused the pilot, Jenny Moala, to abort one landing before trying again.
The plane was last heard from about ten minutes before it was due to land in the rugged region.
The tourists were arriving for a trek along the Kokoda Trail, a 60-mile (96km) hazardous walk which runs through the Owen Stanley Range. It is a popular pilgrimage for Australians keen to hike the route used by Australian soldiers to fight the Japanese during the Second World War.
Kevin Rudd, the Australian Prime Minister, who walked the Kokoda Track in 2006, said that the tragedy was “distressing news for all families of those concerned”. A father and daughter were among the Australians killed.
“There is a horrible tragedy involved when families send off their loved ones for what they expect to be the experience of a lifetime only for it to turn into a tragedy such as this,” Mr Rudd said.
Last night Australia deployed a range of military assistance to help with the search and rescue operation.
However by daybreak the plane had been discovered in what Joseph Kintau, head of the Papuan Civil Aviation Authority, described as “very, very difficult terrain”.
David Inau, a helicopter pilot based in Port Moresby, flew over the crash site earlier today and told Brisbane’s Courier Mail newspaper that the plane appeared to have “impacted head first into a sheer cliff face”.
Mr Inau told the newspaper the “horrific” impact zone was located in the middle of rugged mountain country, just five minutes from the Kokoda airstrip.
All that was visible from the air was a “gaping tear” in the canopy of the mountainous ridgeline, he added.
One member of the missing party is believed to be Matthew Leonard, 28, a Victorian fireman and part-time tour guide, who was working for the Melbourne-based tour operator No Roads Expeditions, which organised the trip.
Peter Miller, the company's managing director, extended deepest sympathies to the families, loved ones and friends of all those on board.
“Our thoughts are especially with the families of the eight Australians on board as part of our tour group travelling to walk the Kokoda Track, and the family of our guide, who was travelling with the group to lead the walk,” the company said in a statement.
Other Australian members of the group are believed to include Max Cranwell and his daughter Leanne, both from Victoria; Dr June Canavan, a sports physician from Queensland who was doing the trek to raise money for a school in Tanzania; her friend Keith Gracie; Hannah Kinross, Kelly Weir, Max Harris, Euan Comrie and Peter Holliday.
Mr Holliday’s wife Shonia said her husband was on his way with his cousin to walk the Kokoda Track as a tribute to his grandfather, who served in the Second World War.
Papua New Guinea is a notoriously dangerous region for light aircraft because of the rugged terrain and bad weather conditions, which can be subject to sudden changes. Pilots fly into the Kokoda area visually, navigating through the low cloud and high mountains by sight on to basic runways.
A spokesman for Adventure Kokoda, another tour company which operates in the area, said other planes could not fly into Kokoda yesterday because of the bad weather and had returned to Port Moresby with tourists on board.
However the Airlines PNG pilots – Ms Moala and Royden Soauka – were believed to have extensive experience of flying in the Kokoda area.
Allen Tyson, an Airlines PNG spokesman, said that the Twin Otter aircraft had been refurbished and fitted with some of the latest navigation aids, including terrain advice equipment.
"The flight crew are experienced with flying in Papua New Guinea's challenging conditions and very familiar with the particular route flown, having both flown in Papua New Guinea for approximately five years on this aircraft type," Mr Tyson said.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6792943.ece?token=null&offset=0&page=1
A charter plane carrying 13 people, including Australian and Japanese tourists, smashed into the side of a mountain in Papua New Guinea yesterday, killing all on board.
The wreckage of the Airlines PNG flight CG4684 was spotted earlier today just north of the village of Isurava in dense and rugged terrain about 5,500ft above sea level.
The crash site was so remote that two policemen had to be dropped into the jungle and hike to the crash site to search for survivors amid deteriorating weather conditions.
However the 11 passengers and two crew – nine Australians, one Japanese and three Papuans – are believed to have died on impact.
The Twin Otter aircraft had been scheduled to arrive at the remote Kokoda airstrip yesterday morning after a short journey from Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea. However, the flight was hampered by bad weather conditions which caused the pilot, Jenny Moala, to abort one landing before trying again.
The plane was last heard from about ten minutes before it was due to land in the rugged region.
The tourists were arriving for a trek along the Kokoda Trail, a 60-mile (96km) hazardous walk which runs through the Owen Stanley Range. It is a popular pilgrimage for Australians keen to hike the route used by Australian soldiers to fight the Japanese during the Second World War.
Kevin Rudd, the Australian Prime Minister, who walked the Kokoda Track in 2006, said that the tragedy was “distressing news for all families of those concerned”. A father and daughter were among the Australians killed.
“There is a horrible tragedy involved when families send off their loved ones for what they expect to be the experience of a lifetime only for it to turn into a tragedy such as this,” Mr Rudd said.
Last night Australia deployed a range of military assistance to help with the search and rescue operation.
However by daybreak the plane had been discovered in what Joseph Kintau, head of the Papuan Civil Aviation Authority, described as “very, very difficult terrain”.
David Inau, a helicopter pilot based in Port Moresby, flew over the crash site earlier today and told Brisbane’s Courier Mail newspaper that the plane appeared to have “impacted head first into a sheer cliff face”.
Mr Inau told the newspaper the “horrific” impact zone was located in the middle of rugged mountain country, just five minutes from the Kokoda airstrip.
All that was visible from the air was a “gaping tear” in the canopy of the mountainous ridgeline, he added.
One member of the missing party is believed to be Matthew Leonard, 28, a Victorian fireman and part-time tour guide, who was working for the Melbourne-based tour operator No Roads Expeditions, which organised the trip.
Peter Miller, the company's managing director, extended deepest sympathies to the families, loved ones and friends of all those on board.
“Our thoughts are especially with the families of the eight Australians on board as part of our tour group travelling to walk the Kokoda Track, and the family of our guide, who was travelling with the group to lead the walk,” the company said in a statement.
Other Australian members of the group are believed to include Max Cranwell and his daughter Leanne, both from Victoria; Dr June Canavan, a sports physician from Queensland who was doing the trek to raise money for a school in Tanzania; her friend Keith Gracie; Hannah Kinross, Kelly Weir, Max Harris, Euan Comrie and Peter Holliday.
Mr Holliday’s wife Shonia said her husband was on his way with his cousin to walk the Kokoda Track as a tribute to his grandfather, who served in the Second World War.
Papua New Guinea is a notoriously dangerous region for light aircraft because of the rugged terrain and bad weather conditions, which can be subject to sudden changes. Pilots fly into the Kokoda area visually, navigating through the low cloud and high mountains by sight on to basic runways.
A spokesman for Adventure Kokoda, another tour company which operates in the area, said other planes could not fly into Kokoda yesterday because of the bad weather and had returned to Port Moresby with tourists on board.
However the Airlines PNG pilots – Ms Moala and Royden Soauka – were believed to have extensive experience of flying in the Kokoda area.
Allen Tyson, an Airlines PNG spokesman, said that the Twin Otter aircraft had been refurbished and fitted with some of the latest navigation aids, including terrain advice equipment.
"The flight crew are experienced with flying in Papua New Guinea's challenging conditions and very familiar with the particular route flown, having both flown in Papua New Guinea for approximately five years on this aircraft type," Mr Tyson said.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article6792943.ece?token=null&offset=0&page=1
