Indonesian Airlines at Wrong Airport

Garuda International Airlines

Another reason to never fly with any Indonesian airlines.

Mobile phone lands aircraft in wrong airport
Jakarta Post
Sept 14, 2005

Wings Air passengers were baffled on Monday when the aircraft that took them from Jakarta landed in a deserted airport after the cabin crew announced they were arriving in Padang, West Sumatra, just on schedule.

Although the recent air disaster that killed 150 people in the neighboring Medan was still on the mind of the 130 passengers, they did not panic because the MD-82 aircraft touched down perfectly.

Still, they were confused when informed they had just landed on the wrong airport, Tabing Airport, which was closed on July 21, following the opening of the new Minangkabau International Airport elsewhere in Padang outskirts.

The aircraft soon took off again with the cabin crew assuring everybody on board that nothing was to worry about the aircraft.

A passenger, Syahrial, said he heard the pilot tell the air traffic control tower of the Minangkabau airport that the runway was in perfect view and ready to touch down. And the tower controller told the pilot to go ahead.

A Minangkabau Airport spokesman Youhanes Gaffar said the incident happened because of bad weather and disruption of the aircraft's navigational system.

"Apparently a passenger used his or her mobile phone when the aircraft was ready to land," he was quoted by Kompas daily as saying.--JP

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Indonesian jet returns to Bali due to mechanical problems
Xinhua
Sept 14, 2005

A passenger plane owned by flag carrier Garuda Indonesia early on Wednesday aborted the flight to Australia after being airborne for more than two hours due to mechanical problems.

The Airbus A-330 returned to the Ngurah Rai Airport in the Bali capital of Denpasar after pilot heard strange noises from the engine, an airport official said.

"There were strong vibrations from the engine and the pilot decided to return to Denpasar," Mohammad Fuschad, the head of administration office with the Ngurah Rai Airport, was quoted as saying by the Detikcom online news service.

Prior to the landing, the plane flew around several times to reduce fuel and the weight of the plane, Mohammad said in Bali.

It was not known the number of passengers and cabin crew aboard the plane.

The incident was the sixth since the crash of a Boeing 737-200 in North Sumatra on Sep. 5 that killed some 150 people. A number of Indonesian passenger planes have since aborted flights or made emergency landing due to various mechanical problems.