BAD WEATHER HAMPERS SEARCH FOR MISSING PLANE IN PAPUA

Jayapura, Papua, Aug. 3 (ANTARA) - The search for a missing Twin Otter aircraft belonging to Merpati airways was hampered by bad weather on Monday morning.

Due to the bad weather which reduced visibility, the search efforts by airplanes could not be conducted, Col. Suwandi, commander of the Jayapura airport, said here on Monday morning.

"We plan to fly five small planes to search for the missing plane, but due to the unfavorable weather condition, only one plane which has been mobilized," he said.

The plane which had flied since 5.45 am local time to look for the ill-fated Twin Otter, belonged to the Association of Mission Aviation (AMA), Colonel Suwandi said.

The search was carried out around the route of the Merpati's plane with a flight code of MZ 9760 D, which was piloted by Qadrianova and co-pilot Pramudya, as well as technician Supriadi.

Meanwhile, relatives of missing plane's passengers have started to arrive in Sentani, Jayapura to closely monitor the search of their loved ones.

They would follow closely the progress of the search for the missing plane, Eko, head of the Merpati local office at Sentani airport, said here on Monday.

The Twin Otter with 12 passengers, including two babies, on board, lost contact with the tower while flying between Jayapura and Oksibil, Pegunungan Bintang District on Sunday (Aug 2).

However, the plane had earlier made a contact with the pilot of an Indonesian Air Force's Cassa aircraft flying from Oksibil to Sentani, before it lost contact with the tower.

The MZ 9760 D aircraft which took off from Jayapura at 10.15 a.m. Eastern Indonesia Standard Time (WIT) was scheduled to arrive at 11.05 a.m..

Before taking off, the Twin Otter plane had already undergone the routine airworthiness check and a full tank for 3.5 hours of flying, but it needs only 55 minutes to cover this route.