Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 724
Fokker F28 Fellowship · Controlled flight into terrain due to pilot error
From Pattimura International Airport (AMQ) to Jefman Airport, Sorong, Irian Jaya, Indonesia
Event
- Event typeAccident: someone killed or seriously injured, or the aircraft substantially damaged (NTSB definition). Incident: an occurrence that affected or could have affected safety, short of that. Glossary
- Accident
- Event fatalities
- 41 · all aircraft and ground
- Ground fatalities
- Unknown
- Occupants
- 43
- Survivors
- 2
- InjuriesFatal: death within 30 days. Serious: over 48 hours in hospital within a week, most broken bones, severe bleeding, nerve or organ damage, or serious burns. Minor: anything less. Glossary
- 2
- OperationWhat kind of flying it was, grouped by the rules it flew under: airline (US Part 121), air taxi and commuter (Part 135), general aviation (Part 91 and similar), military or government. Glossary
- Airline
Fokker F28 Fellowship
- Aircraft type
- Fokker F28
- Category
- Airplane · from aircraft type
- RegistrationThe aircraft's tail number, such as N12345 or G-ABCD. Registrations are reissued, so the same one years apart can be a different aircraft. Glossary
- PK-GFU
- Operator
- Merpati Nusantara Airlines
- Onboard fatalities
- 41
- Route
- From Pattimura International Airport (AMQ)To Jefman Airport, Sorong, Irian Jaya, Indonesia
Cause areas
- Personnel issues › Task performance
- Environmental issues › Physical environment
From the investigation findings the Wikipedia article reports, sorted into the NTSB's cause areas with AI assistance.
Approximate · Coordinates from the Wikipedia article; not checked against an investigation report.
From the Wikipedia article
Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 724 (MZ724/MNA724) was a scheduled domestic passenger flight operated by Merpati Nusantara Airlines from Pattimura Airport in Maluku's provincial capital Ambon to Jefman Airport in Sorong, Irian Jaya (currently West Papua); both in Indonesia. On 1 July 1993, the aircraft operating the flight, a Fokker F28 Fellowship 3000 registered as PK-GFU, crashed into the sea after it struck a small hill near Jefman Airport. 41 of the 43 people on board were killed in the crash.
Investigators concluded that the pilot of the aircraft unintentionally flew into high terrain. Subsequent damage caused the aircraft to crash into the sea off Jefman Airport.
Accident
On 1 July 1993, the Fokker F28 Fellowship was approaching Jefman Airport at a relatively low height. Survivors recalled that the distance between the ground and the aircraft was less than one metre. The aircraft suddenly climbed then the left landing gear struck the summit of a small hill. Survivors stated that there was a loud bang when it happened.
Some passengers were thrown from their seats inside the aircraft. Parts of the wing detached, and the aircraft began to spin. The aircraft then overran the airport and crashed into the sea, breaking into three main sections. Most of the victims were found still strapped to their seats and several bodies floated to the surface. Search and rescue units were deployed immediately after the crash. Local fishermen arrived first on the crash site and helped a young boy and a man from the site. Several people survived the crash, but some died from their injuries. A man survived the crash and saved an unconscious boy from the water. While handing the boy over to a local fisherman, he suddenly became unconscious and later died.
News of the crash began to break at 3:00pm - 4:00pm. Relatives of the victims were informed about the crash and were transported to the crash site. They arrived the following day. The evacuation process was relatively quick, as the crash site was easily accessible.
Investigation and cause
Investigation
Weather conditions were reported as bad at the time of the crash. Eyewitnesses stated that heavy rain was accompanied by strong wind. Merpati spokesman also stated that the weather in and around Sorong was "inclement", including the area of Jefman Airport. Thick black clouds could be seen at the time of the crash. Reports revealed that air traffic controllers had warned the crew of Flight 724 to abort their landing attempt and divert to Biak Airport. However, the pilot of Flight 724 insisted on landing at Jefman Airport.
When the pilot started the descent the aircraft turned towards the sea instead of the runway. The pilot seemed to be disoriented due to the inclement weather conditions. Seconds later, the crew realized their mistakes and executed a climb, but failed. The front part of the aircraft did manage to avoid the hill, however the rear part of the aircraft hit it. The aircraft then broke into three sections and crashed into the sea.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 724” (revision 1354748028, retrieved 2026-09-18) by its authors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Extracted as plain text: references, tables, images and some sections are left out. Read the article
Sources
Wikipedia article: Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 724
- Revision
- 1354748028 · 2026-05-18 · retrieved 2026-09-18
- Wikidata
- Q28163694
- Licence
- Text CC BY-SA 4.0, by the article's authors; Wikidata CC0; town positions GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where each value comes from
- Record
- Wikipedia article "Merpati Nusantara Airlines Flight 724" (page 51439288, revision 1354748028)
- Date
- Wikipedia infobox: date
- Place and country
- Wikipedia infobox: site
- Map position
- Wikipedia article coordinates
- Aircraft, operator and route
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft type, registration, operator, origin and destination; route airports from the linked airport articles' Wikidata codes (OurAirports)
- Operation
- flight number in the article title
- Fatalities
- Wikipedia infobox: aircraft fatalities
- Ground fatalities
- not stated in the Wikipedia infobox
- Summary
- Wikipedia infobox: summary
Source notes (1)
- Wikipedia · Facts from the Wikipedia article's infobox and coordinates, not checked against an investigation report. Independent review pending.