Plane Crash in Indonesia

The plane crashed in a crowded Medan neighborhood killing at

least 147 people

Crash kills many

Plane crashed shortly after taking off from Medan on Monday

Killed 102 on board and 47 on the ground

Cause of the crash is still unknown to authorities

Mandala Airlines Jetliner

Boeing 737-200 112 passengers

and 5 crew Flight to Jakarta,

Indonesia Left from Medan’s

Polonia airport Mandala Airlines

Flight 091

Survivors

Miraculously 15 passengers in the tail of the plane survived, including a toddler and are being treated at a local hospital

Survivors said the plane started shaking at takeoff and failed to clear landing systems at the end of the runway

The airplane clipped a riverbank, swerved right and plowed into homes on a busy street

Plane causes inferno in neighborhood

The plane crashed into one of the busiest streets in a Medan neighborhood

Homes began to catch fire immediately

At least 12 homes were destroyed and 5 to 6 minibuses

One Woman’s Story

“At first I heard a bang and then I looked up (to the ceiling) and there were balls of fire and then my son and daughter-in-law came to get me,” said Mariam sitting in the blackened wreckage of her home.

Investigation

Police found the black box and flight recorder late Monday night

It will be sent overseas for investigation At this point too early to determine the

cause of the crash President Yudhoyona ordered and

investigation by the transportation minister

Mandala says foul play in unlikely

Background Information

Second plane crash in less than a year: in November of last year a plane in Java skidded off the runway killing 31 and injuring dozens more

The aircraft was built in 1981 and fit for 8 more years of flying

Worst Indonesian crash in 1997 was a Garuda flight killing all 222 passengers and 12 crew

More Background

Mandala Airlines is one of Indonesia’s oldest private carriers

Medan is 885 miles NW of Jakarta on Sumatra island

One of Indonesia’s busiest airports Major gateway for aid into the tsunami-

hit Aceh province

The Devastation