Contact with the aircraft, which was heading from Yogyakarta to Makassar, was lost in the east of the country; teams concentrate operations in mountainous area of Celebes island
Photo: Reproduction
The authorities of This Saturday (17), they are searching for a small plane with 10 people on board, with which they lost contact while flying over the east of the country, those in charge of the rescue teams told AFP.
The aircraft, belonging to the airline Indonesia Air Transport, was flying to Makassar, in the south of the island of Celebes, after taking off from Yogyakarta, on the island of Java. Three passengers and seven crew were on board.
Contact was lost shortly after 1pm local time (3am in Brasília).
The plane is an ATR 42-500, according to ATR, a French manufacturer of this type of turboprop regional transport aircraft, based in Toulouse.
“ATR experts are fully committed to collaborating with the Indonesian authorities and the company,” said the French company in a statement.
The head of the local search and rescue agency, Muhammad Arif Anwar, said his teams were deployed to a mountainous area in the Maros region, about 42 kilometers from Makassar, based on the last known position of the aircraft. The Air Force, police and volunteers are participating in the searches, he added.
Due to its extension and island nature, Indonesia relies heavily on air transport to communicate its islands.
The country does not have a good record on aviation safety. In September 2025, a helicopter with six passengers and two crew crashed shortly after taking off from the south of the island of Borneo, with no survivors.
Less than two weeks later, four people died when another helicopter crashed in the Ilaga district on the island of Papua.
*With AFP
