January 21, 2026 | 11:09 am
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT) has not yet concluded the cause of the ATR 42-500 plane crash that crashed in Maros, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. KNKT Chairperson Soerjanto Tjahjono stated that as of the fourth day after the incident, his agency was still in the data collection phase.
According to him, determining the true cause of an incident depends on its complexity. In the case of the ATR plane crash, he said, it depends to some extent on whether the black box from the Indonesia Air Transport plane is found. "Find the black box first," he said at the House of Representatives/People's Consultative Assembly (DPR/MPR) complex in Jakarta on Tuesday, January 20, 2026.
Meanwhile, the joint search and rescue team has yet to locate the black box. Soerjanto stated that the black box is vital because it records and records all activity on the plane.
During a working meeting with Commission V of the House of Representatives (DPR), Soerjanto stated that the ATR 42-500 aircraft was found to have veered off course while attempting to land at Sultan Hasanuddin Airport, South Sulawesi. The aircraft, carrying ten people, was directed to land on runway 21.
This runway requires the aircraft to make a landing approach from the Araja point. Then proceed to the Openg point, and finally to the Kabip point before landing.
However, Soerjanto stated that the ATR aircraft did not fly to the Araja point, as per landing procedures. He said the aircraft continued to veer off course when asked to immediately bypass the Openg and Kabip points. "We can't yet explain the reason," he said.
He said the ATR aircraft, which overshot three points before landing, veered to the right and ultimately entered the Mount Bulusaraung area. He said air traffic controllers had communicated with the ATR crew to inquire whether the plane was turning right on a heading of 245.
"It was hoped that the heading of 245 would bypass the ILS so the automatic landing guidance system could operate. But by then, the plane had already crashed," he said.
The ATR 42-500 aircraft was declared lost in Maros Regency, South Sulawesi, on January 17, 2026. The crew consisted of seven people: Andy Dahananto, captain and pilot; Farhan Gunawan, co-pilot; Hariadi, flight operations officer; two aircraft technicians, Restu Adi P and Dwi Murdiono; and two cabin crew members, Florencia Lolita and Esther Aprilita.
The aircraft was carrying three passengers, all of whom were on duty employees of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. They are Ferry Irawan as a Surveillance Vessel Analyst, Deden Mulyana as a State Asset Manager, and Yoga Noval as an Aerial Photography Operator.
The rescue team has so far found two victims of the ATR plane crash on the summit of Mount Bulusaraung. Both were found at different times and in different locations. The two victims, a man and a woman, were also unable to be evacuated due to steep terrain and weather constraints.
The joint team has also found wreckage from the Indonesia Air Transport plane. The discovery location is on the southern slope of Mount Bulusaraung Peak, with the fuselage positioned north of the mountain peak. However, the rescue team has not yet recovered the black box from the ATR plane.
Read: Facts About Mount Bulusaraung, Indonesia's ATR 42-500 Plane Crash Site
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