Mandala Airlines Flight 660

Mandala Airlines Flight 660 was a scheduled passenger flight on 24 July 1992 which crashed in Indonesia into a mountain on Ambon Island as it attempted to land at Pattimura Airport in poor weather conditions. On approach to Pattimura, the aircraft struck the slope of Mt. Liliboy about 14 km southwest of Runway 04 while trying to land in heavy rain, at around 16:30 local time. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and there were no survivors. The cause was attributed to pilot error after the aircraft was approaching at an insufficient altitude in inclement weather condition.

Accident

Flight 660 was a regularly scheduled domestic flight from Ujung Pandang, the capital of South Sulawesi's province, to Ambon, then-provincial capital of Maluku. The flight initially had arrived from Jakarta with an intermediate stop in Surabaya. Most of the passengers were tourists and local businessmen. During the approach to Ambon's Patttimura Airport, the aircraft encountered severe weather which limited visibility. The crew failed to locate the runway and decided to turn around to attempt another landing. While circling, the crew radioed the ATC and stated "We're turning to the airport". This was the last transmission from Flight 660. During the second approach, as the aircraft descended, it struck Mount Liliboy at around 16:30 local time, exploding on impact and instantly killing everyone on board.