Today in history: 182 Indonesian pilgrims Die After Plane Crashes in Sri Lanka

GANDATOTO -exactly 50 th. a plane carrying 182 Indonesian pilgrims crashed in Colombo, Sri Lanka on December 4, 1974. The accident killed all pilgrims who flew on a plane owned by Martin Air from Surabaya, East Java with the target of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The incident occurred when the Martin Air plane crashed after exploding and crashing into a mountain in the Adam’s Peak area east of Bandaranaike Airport, Colombo. The Martin airliner that crashed was a DC-8 55F made by McDonnell Douglas in 1966. The aircraft was chartered by Garuda Indonesia specifically for Hajj flights.

Story of Indonesian pilgrim plane crash in Sri Lanka

Reported from Kompas.com on Monday (4/12/2020), the Martin Air accident that killed 182 Indonesian pilgrims walked 15 minutes before the plane would land at Bandaranaike Airport. Colombo, which is the site of the Martin Air plane crash, is not the final target for Indonesian pilgrims. The plane landed in Colombo to refuel before heading to Jeddah. However, the stop in Colombo turned into a disaster when Tower officials did not properly hear the pilot’s speech.

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Based on the last contact, the pilot said the distance the plane shared the airport was “forty miles” or 40 miles. However, the remark was incorrectly heard by Tower officials who arrested him as “fourteen miles” or 14 miles. The mishandling resulted in the tower attendant giving instructions so that the pilot could land his plane.

The instruction was received by the pilots along with lower the altitude of the aircraft. However, he was surprised after understanding the order given was wrong. He immediately raised the altitude of the plane, but his efforts to save the pilgrims failed. The Martin Air plane eventually crashed into the mountain until all passengers and crew died.

Based on the crash report, the Martin Air plane was at an altitude of 10,200 feet, the time the mountain was hit had an altitude of approximately 4,600 feet.

List of pilgrims victims of the Martin Air plane crash

The fatal crash of the Martin Air plane five decades later killed pilgrims from various regions. Reporting from Kompas.id on Thursday (6/12/2018), the plane transported 111 people from Blitar, 16 people from Lamongan, 1 person from Surabaya City, 2 people from Surabaya Regency, 49 people from South Sulawesi, and 3 people from East Kalimantan. In addition, the nine crew members who participated in the Martin Air flight were seven Dutch citizens, and two Indonesian citizens who remained students. Martin Air crash site is difficult to access. Residents in more or less the area of the incident called The Martin Air plane crash site as the seven Virgin Hills or seven steep and dangerous cliff peaks. Because the terrain is so difficult to reach, the first team assigned to carry out the search system again without having results.

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In addition, a team from the Indonesian Embassy in Colombo and a team from the Netherlands were also flown to Sri Lanka to deal with the accident. Although at that time the communication system was not as sophisticated as it is now, the news of the Martin Air plane crash caused Indonesia to grieve. National Media outlets from radio, television, and newspapers broadcast news of the accident on December 6, 1974. Suharto who remained as president immediately sent a special team consisting of transportation, directorate general of Hajj and Umrah, and from Garuda Indonesia. Garuda was also dispatched because this airline chartered eight aircraft for 214 hajj flights with a quantity of 54,340 seating areas. One of the aircraft chartered is MD-8 55F which is indeed a transport aircraft but converted for Hajj flights.

Source: sarachendesign.com