On 16 August 2015, a Trigana Air, scheduled domestic route, en route from Jayapura to Oksibil crashed into the Papuan Jungle. The aircraft involved was an ATR 42-300. There were 54 passangers and 5 crew on board. All of the people aboard died in the accident. The wreckage was found by villagers in the Bintang highlands region of Oksibil.

                                         The ATR 42-300, the aircraft involved in the
                                          accident.

   The flight was a 45-minutes flight from Jayapura to Oksibil. The flight took of from Sentani Airport Jayapura at 14.22 WIT and was scheduled to land in Oksibil at 15.16. Oksibil airport doesn't have an instrument landing system to guide aircraft to land because it is located near the mountains. At about 14.55, the contact between the aircraft and the ground was lost. At the time of its accident, the aircraft was on the final section of its scheduled route. At 15.30, the National Search and Rescure Agency (BASARNAS) deployed a search to find the missing ATR 42. The search was suspended caused by foggy weather and was resumed soon. Local people called and reported to the police that they saw the aircraft crash into the Tangok Mountain. Airborne searchers spotted the wreckage about 12 km from Oksibil. All 54 passangers and crews died. The area itself was never been explored by humans according to the BASARNAS officials.

                                         BASARNAS team searching for the dead bodies.

Written by: Kevin E.Gunawan