Merpati Nusantara Airlines

PT Merpati Nusantara Airlines, operated as Merpati, was an airline in Indonesia based in Central Jakarta, Jakarta. It operated scheduled domestic services to more than 25 destinations in Indonesia, as well as scheduled international services to East Timor and Malaysia. The word merpati is Indonesian for "dove", and Nusantara is a Javanese word found in the Pararaton ("the Book of Kings", probably written in the 16th century) meaning "the outer islands", referring to the Indonesian archipelago. The airline was based at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Jakarta.[2] It also maintained both a maintenance and simulator facility at Juanda International Airport, Surabaya.[3] The Merpati Training Centre at Surabaya housed Fokker F-27, AVIC MA60 and CN-235 full motion simulators.

All services were suspended in 2014 due to financial and regulatory issues. After 8 years of failing to negotiate the airlines relaunch and obtain funding, all operating licenses and certificates were permanently revoked and the airline was dissolved on 20 February 2023.[4]

History

Merpati Training Center

Merpati Training Center (MTC) is a division of strategic business unit and is one of the largest aviation training centres in Indonesia. It conducts ground school courses for pilots, flight attendants, flight operation officers (dispatchers), commercial airline operations and administration staff in the region. The training centre was founded in 1994 and known as 'Flight Safety Training' training initially Merpati's own staff, but later changed its name to the Merpati Training Center (MTC) in 1999. Some of MTC's clients include the national airline, Garuda Indonesia, Sriwijaya Air, Batavia Air, Lion Air, and Pelita Air Service, among others.

Courses conducted by the MTC include type rating courses for pilots, flight attendants and flight operation officers on the Boeing 737 Classic, AVIC Xian MA60, Fokker F27, CASA CN-235, DHC-6 Twin Otter, CASA C-212 Aviocar, as well as other ground courses including Dangerous Goods Awareness, Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL) theory, Cockpit Resources Management (CRM), Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM), Approach and Landing Accident Reduction (ALAR), Safety Management Systems (SMS), Aviation Security (AVSEC) and Windshear Avoidance.

MTC has two campuses, located in Jakarta and Surabaya. MTC's Jakarta campus is located on 11th Floor of the Merpati Building in Kemayoran, whereas the Surabaya campus is located at Juanda International Airport.

Merpati Pilot School

On 16 February 2010, the Merpati Pilot School, a department of the MTC, was officially launched at Surabaya's Juanda International Airport. The flying school was awarded its Part 141 certification from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation on 18 August 2009 and currently has a fleet of four Cessna C172s, registered PK-MSA, PK-MSH, PK-MSN and PK-MST. Ground school for cadet pilots are conducted at the Merpati Training Centre in Surabaya, and flight training is conducted from Budiarto Airport, Curug (near Jakarta) as well as Trunojoyo Airport, Sumenep on the island of Madura. Flight Instructors at Merpati Pilot School are all current line pilots with Merpati Nusantara Airlines each with thousands of hours' flying experience.

Accidents and incidents

On 10 November 1971, Vickers Viscount PK-MVS crashed into the sea 75 mi off Sumatra, killing all 69 people on board.

On 5 April 1972, a Vickers Viscount was the subject of an attempted hijacking. The hijacker was killed.[21]

On 7 February 1977, a Douglas C-47A PK-NDH was damaged beyond economic repair in a landing accident at Tanjung Santan Airport.[22]

On 5 October 1978, a Douglas C-47A PK-NDI caught fire whilst parked at Ngurah Rai International Airport, Bali and was destroyed.[23]

On 30 January 1991, Flight 7970, a Fokker 27 crashed after takeoff from Sam Ratulangi International Airport, all passengers survived.

On 18 October 1992, Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 5601, a CASA/IPTN CN-235 crashed into Mount Papandayan killing all 31 passengers and crew on board including Merpati's only female pilot at the time.

On 1 July 1993, Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 724, a Fokker F28 registered as PK-GFU, ditched into the sea off Sorong, West Papua after striking high ground. 41 people were drowned in the incident. 2 people were injured.[24]

On 30 November 1994, Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 422, a Fokker F28 overran the runway at Achmad Yani International Airport with no casualties among the 85 on board.[25]

On 10 January 1995, Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 6715, a de Havilland Canada DHC-6, went missing over the Molo Strait. All 14 people on board were likely killed. Investigators suspected that an explosion occurred on the lower cargo compartment.[26]

On 19 April 1997, Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 106, a British Aerospace ATP, crashed into a coconut plantation in Bulutumbang village, killing 15 people the 53 on board.

On 7 September 1997, a CASA 212 registered as PK-NCS slammed onto terrain while on approach to Pattimura Airport in Ambon. All 3 people on board were killed.

On 2 August 2009, Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 9760, a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 crashed on the island of New Guinea, about 14 mi north of Oksibil. All 16 people on board were killed.[27]

On 3 December 2009, a Fokker 100 PK-MJD made an emergency landing at El Tari Airport, Kupang when the left main gear failed to extend. There were no injuries among the passengers and crew.[28]

On 13 April 2010, Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 836, a Boeing 737 PK-MDE, trying to land at Rendani Airport split in half after it overran the runway, injuring 44 people.

On 7 May 2011, Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 8968, a Xian MA60 PK-MZK, operating on the Sorong-Kaimana route, crashed in the sea, killing all 25 people on board.

On 3 December 2011, a CASA C-212 Aviocar passenger plane sustained substantial damage in a landing accident at Larat-Watidar Airport, Indonesia. There were three crew members and 19 passengers on board. Two passengers suffered minor injuries.

On 10 June 2013, a Xian MA60 PK-MZO, operating Flight 6517 from Bajawa to Kupang with 50 people on board, crash-landed at Kupang airport in East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. One passenger was injured. The aircraft, which has been damaged beyond repair, lay on its belly on the runway with its engines jammed face down into the tarmac and its wings bent forward.[29]

airline	Merpati Nusantara Airlines
fleet size	39
destinations	84
iata	MZ
icao	MNA
callsign	MERPATI
parent	Government of Indonesia
founded	September 6, 1962 (as Merpati Nusantara Airlines)
commenced	June 1987 (as Merpati)
ceased	June 1987 (as Merpati Nusantara Airlines) February 1, 2014 (as Merpati)
headquarters	Jakarta, Indonesia
key people	Capt. Asep Ekanugraha (CEO)
bases	Denpasar Jakarta–Soekarno-Hatta Surabaya Biak‡R1R‡
subsidiaries	Merpati Maintenance Facility
website	www.merpati.co.id

Merpati Nusantara Airlines

History

Corporate affairs

Destinations

Fleet

Previous fleet

Fleet development

Former fleet

Merpati Training Center

Merpati Pilot School

Accidents and incidents

External links

References