Weather Factor Is the Main Driver for the Fall of the Heli MI-17 owned by the Army

Weather Factor Is the Main Driver for the Fall of the Heli MI-17 owned by the Army

Commander of Kodam XVII / Cenderawasih Major General Herman Asaribab said the accident that had befallen the MI-17 helicopter owned by the Army in the Mandala mountains, Oksop District, Pegungan Bintang Regency, Papua, Indonesia, last June was purely due to weather factors.

"I estimate the pilot had tried to bring the helicopter to its original location, but due to the foggy weather situation in the mountainous area at that time so the pilot decided to return but when turning the helicopter accident crashed into the mountain," Herman said after reviewing 12 bodies at Bhayangkara Hospital in Kota Jayapura, Saturday, February 15, 2020.

On Saturday morning, the team evacuated the bodies of 12 MI-17 helicopter passengers from the crash site. The location of the plane debris previously found since 11 February. The heli was known to be lost and fell in the Papua Mountains on June 28, 2019.

Regarding the weapons owned by the soldiers when the helicopter crash disappeared, according to Herman, for the time being they were still kept by local residents who were hunting at the time. "For organic weapons, TNI soldiers who are victims of helicopter accidents will certainly be returned by residents," he said.

Herman also revealed that the ranks of TNI and Polri soldiers in Papua Province expressed deep condolences to the families of victims who had come to visit the body at Bhayangkara Hospital.

"On my personal behalf, soldiers and extended family of Kodam XVII / Cenderawasih, I am sorry for the death of TNI soldiers serving in the Papua region," he said.