In October 2008, a Diamond DA-40 (registration PK-VVL) from Susi Air made an emergency landing on a firing range in the hilly Army Infantry Training Center compound, some 40 kilometers from the West Java provincial capital Bandung. The pilot was forced to make an emergency landing because of a fuel pump failure. The aircraft's propeller gear was damaged after hitting the ground on the uneven grass field. Besides the Pilot, the airplane was carrying two mechanics to fix another Susi Air airplane that had broken down at
Nusawiru airport. An investigation into this accident was conducted by the Indonesian
National Transportation Safety Committee, which found that the pilot was not licensed in Indonesia, and that the accident was caused by fuel starvation due to the failure of a fuel pump. On 9 September 2011 a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan (PK-VVE) was destroyed when it crashed in the Pasema District, Indonesia. Both pilots were killed. The airplane was carrying four drums of diesel fuel and some goods from Wamena to a remote airstrip. It failed to arrive at the destination. The wreckage was found in mountainous terrain in the
Yahukimo Regency. The name of the airstrip has been named as Kenyem and Kenyam in Indonesian media. This is the same airstrip which is named Keneyan in the
Australian Defence Force's Tactical Airfield Guide of the region. Also on the same day, 9 September 2011, another Cessna 208B Grand Caravan (PK-BVQ) was mistakenly reported to have slid off the runway at
Kupang's
El Tari airport. The aircraft suffered a flat tire during landing and was stuck on the runway. As ground personnel arrived at the aircraft, the decision was made to push the aircraft off the runway in order to reopen the runway. The pictures taken of the aircraft on the grass led to a story of a runway excursion. This incident resulted in the aircraft blocking the runway for 50 minutes causing two Boeing 737 commercial flights to divert to
Makassar,
South Sulawesi. On 23 November 2011 a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan (PK-VVG) was destroyed after a go-around at Sugapa Airport in
Nabire,
Papua, killing the aircraft's co-pilot and leaving the pilot with severe injuries; the two crew were the only people on the aircraft, which was operating a cargo flight. The plane crash occurred after avoiding a runway jaywalker at a poorly managed runway in the
Bintang Mountains. The pilot decided to go-around (i.e. fly back up), but the area was surrounded by mountains and cliffs, causing the accident. The National Transport Safety Committee released the final report on the accident on April 16, 2013. On 25 April 2012 a PC 6 (PK VVQ) crashed in, Melak district,
East Kalimantan killing the pilot and passenger who were engaged in an Aerial Survey of the area. The aircraft was reported missing at 1710 LT on 25 April with the wreckage found on 26 April, thus confirming the condition of the occupants/aircraft. In 2014, Iranian national Nader Haghighi was hired as a pilot by Susi Air, but was fired after it was discovered he was using a fraudulent passport. At the time of his hiring, he was not licensed to operate an aircraft as previously his pilot's license had been revoked by the FAA and he had been convicted of stealing an aircraft in the United States. As a result of this safety record, United States Embassy personnel as of May 2012 are prohibited from flying on Susi Air. Similarly, Australian Government officials are not permitted to use the airline.
2023 hostage incident On 8 February 2023, a New Zealand Susi Air pilot was taken hostage in the Papua province of Indonesia. Papuan separatists fighters abducted Philip Mark Mehrtens, and set alight to the Pilatus Porter aircraft that he had just landed in a regional airport in Paro, Nduga. His captors stated they would not release Mehrtens “unless Indonesia recognises and frees Papua from Indonesian colonialism”. He remained hostage nearly two years and was in released September 2024. Militants from the
West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) movement took responsibility for the attack in a statement and stated that they would be targeting more foreigners in attacks. ==References==