Plane Crash in Medan Indonesia kills 104 Passengers and 39 on Ground

September 5th 2005

An Indonesian passenger plane carrying 117 people has crashed in Medan Indonesia soon after takeoff.  Mandala Airlines flight RI091 was in route to Jakarta from Medan (about 700 miles) carrying business people and possibly tourists.  It appears to be a “failed takeoff”.  The plane crashed about a minute after takeoff. 

The plane was a Boeing 737-200 and was partially owned and controlled by the Indonesian Military, according to Bloomberg.  Reports indicate that it is likely that all on board perished in the crash that took place in residential area about 2 km from the center of the city. 

The New York Times reported that 104 of the passengers and 39 people on the ground had been killed.    Medan is the largest city in the Sumatra Islands with a dense residential population near the center.  It is unknown how many people on the ground have been killed.  

Mandala is a low cost airline.  Many of the planes operated by Mandala are at least 10 years old. 

A jetliner slid off the runway in Java last February killing 26 people.  Lion Air, the operator of that airline was also a low-cost carrier. 

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By Dan Wilson
Best Syndication Staff Writer