ATR42 missing in Papua, Indonesia - 54 on board

[Eevo]

AN INDONESIAN passenger plane carrying 54 people has lost contact with air traffic control during a flight in the rugged easternmost province of Papua.
The Trigana Air ATR 42 turboprop plane lost contact just before 3pm (0600 GMT) after taking off from Sentani airport in Papua's capital Jayapura on a flight to Oksibil, the search and rescue agency said on Twitter.
The plane was carrying 44 adults, five children and five crew on the flight which was scheduled to take about 45 minutes, the agency said. It had left Jayapura about half an hour before it disappeared, it added.
Transport ministry spokesman J.A. Barata confirmed the plane had lost contact and said it was supposed to arrive at Oksibil airport just after 3pm.
?We are not sure what happened to the plane yet and we are coordinating with local authorities,? he told AFP.
?The weather is currently very bad there, it's very dark and cloudy. It's not conducive for a search. The area is mountainous.?
Trigana Air is an Indonesian airline.
Indonesia has a patchy aviation safety record. In December an AirAsia plane flying from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore crashed in the Java Sea during stormy weather, killing all 162 people on board.

[Mick_Marsh]

There was a telly show a few months back. It showed commercial flying in PNG. It's a dangerous place to fly. There were a lot of plane wrecks dotted around the remote air strips.

[p38arover]

There was a telly show a few months back. It showed commercial flying in PNG. It's a dangerous place to fly. There were a lot of plane wrecks dotted around the remote air strips.

That was about Susi Air Http://fly.susiair.com/

The most dangerous place in the world to be a pilot - Telegraph

[ramblingboy42]

When I was in Army Aviation I was offered the opportunity to do some flying around PNG in our then Pilatus Porters and Nomads for several months.

I refused the offer and was made to feel pretty bad for doing so.

Although our aeroplanes have never crashed there , hundreds of others have and I was condemned (seriously) for adopting that attitude.

I wasn't ordered to go because others jumped at the opportunity , but it caused the demise of my military history.

[AndyG]

When I was in Army Aviation I was offered the opportunity to do some flying around PNG in our then Pilatus Porters and Nomads for several months.

I refused the offer and was made to feel pretty bad for doing so.

Although our aeroplanes have never crashed there , hundreds of others have and I was condemned (seriously) for adopting that attitude.

I wasn't ordered to go because others jumped at the opportunity , but it caused the demise of my military history.

A real pity, my family was involved in PNG aviation from 61 onwards, and im still here as a Pax, there are old pilots and bold pilots, I am always happy when the pilot says we are not taking off or we are aborting the landing, There is always tomorrow. ADF lost a Caribou in 68 and 72 , my old man got in trouble salvaging an engine for Mandated Airlines , as ADF deemed it a write off. Unfortunately the news broke the same week Reg Ansett was in Englang getting his gong .