As reported on ABC
Local police have recovered three bodies from the wreck of the plane which crashed in mountainous terrrain near the Kokoda Track on Tuesday, the ABC has been told.
But bad weather combined with the rugged terrain is hampering efforts to recover more bodies from the wreckage of the Twin Otter, which went down with the loss of all 13 people on board.
Helicopters have been unable to set down at the makeshift landing area constructed just 15 metres from the wreckage and the bodies which have been pulled from the plane have not been removed from the crash site.
Nine Australians were among those killed when the Airlines PNG plane crashed in mountainous terrain in the Owen Stanley range en route to the start of the Kokoda Track.
Meanwhile the Australian company that owns Airlines PNG has denied one of the plane's pilots was inexperienced.
Press reports today say one of the pilots, Jenny Moala, had less than six months' experience flying twin-engined planes.
But Skytrans chief executive Simon Wild says that is not the case.
"Both pilots have been working with us since 2005 and have over 2,500 hours on the aircraft type," he said.
"Jenny is certainly well experienced for that operation, having flown it multiple times.
"We have a very vigorous check and training system by command pilots who have spent decades flying in those regions and on those types [of planes] - certainly some of the most experienced pilots in the world on those types of aircraft on that terrain."
Mr Wild paid his condolences to the families of those who died, but says the company has strict aviation standards and will work with authorities to investigate the tragedy.
"Not one of our planes will fly if it does not meet the required standards," he said.
"We are open and audited at least six times a year by the regulatory authorities, and probably another half a dozen times a year by the major multinationals, to ensure that not only do we comply to them, but that we exceed the required standards.
"We are certainly very much open to the assistance of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau in investigating this incident.
"Certainly looking at accidents such as this we can improve the safety of aviation in PNG, certainly in this rugged terrain when very bad weather hampers the operation."
He says the airline will do "everything we can to assist the families and those involved."
2 comments:
Jenny Moala had been flying with APNG since 2005, flying the Twin Otter the whole time. It is true that she had only recently been upgraded to Captain of the Twin Otter, however she had approx 4 years experience flying this aircraft. It is imperative that the media has their facts straight before reporting them to the world. Our prayers are with Jenny and Royden's families in this difficult time.
Thanks Anon for the comment. We have posted on this blog that PNG pilots are some of the best in the world. Facts speak for themselves. Our pilots are in the middle east, in europe and Asia. The Australian media always try to blame somebody for disasters. We pray for Jenny Moala's family and the Australians and others who died.
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