smart air

Smart Air Aircraft Crew Evacuation: Pilot Survives 3 Days in Forest and the Engineer Passes Away

Share:

The tragedy of the Smart Air (Smart Aviation) plane crash on Friday, 8th March 2024, in North Kalimantan finally saw a glimmer of hope. The search and rescue (SAR) team successfully located the crash site on Sunday, 10th March 2024, and managed to evacuate the 29-year-old plane pilot, who was found alive, along with one engineer (35 years old), who unfortunately did not survive.

The Smart Air plane lost contact on Friday, 8th March 2024, at 8:25 AM local time. It departed from Juwata Tarakan International Airport bound for Binuang, Krayan, with an expected arrival time of 9:25 AM local time. The plane was carrying a cargo load weighing 583 kilograms, consisting of 21 essential food items, including sugar, toothpaste, coffee, and candy.

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by kumparan (@kumparancom)


The rescue team located the purported crash site of the Pilatus Smart Aviation plane in a forested area at coordinates 3°43’45.80″N 115°56’54.45″E on Saturday, 9th March 2024, around 5:21 PM local time. Using the Super Puma H-225M Reg helicopter with the registration number H-2207, they evacuated the two victims to Tarakan. The pilot of the Smart Aeroplane sustained head injuries and was promptly placed on a breathing apparatus.

Sonia, the General Marketing Manager of Smart Air, stated that once the Smart Air pilot is deemed stable and recovers under the care of the medical team, he will be promptly returned to his hometown. “The pilot is currently under observation, as he underwent surgery at Dr. Yusuf Hospital in Tarakan last night on Sunday, 10th March 2024,” Sonia mentioned on Monday, 11th March 2024.

Smart Air expresses gratitude to all members of the joint rescue team for their dedicated efforts in ensuring the safe and smooth evacuation of the two victims. As of now, 10 personnel from the joint SAR team remain at the crash site of the PK-SNE pioneer aircraft, persistently working to locate the black box and flight data recorder (FDR), believed to have become detached from the plane wreckage.

Interested in this topic? Check out our other articles from Social Expat!

Content Writer

Yuriz absolutely loves content writing and exploring the nitty-gritty of various topics. It all started by chance, but writing quickly became an essential part of her life! Plus, she is a huge K-pop fan, jamming out to it all day, every day!

Related News

I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali is undergoing a major runway resurfacing project that is scheduled to last for 10 months, from July 2025 until May 2026. The work involves a complete asphalt overlay of the runway’s surface, covering a length of 3,000 metres and a width of 45 metres. The General Manager […]

Indonesia continues to be a top travel destination for international visitors, particularly from neighbouring countries and regional partners. Based on recent data from the Central Statistics Agency (Badan Pusat Statistik/BPS), Malaysia has emerged as the leading country of origin for international tourists visiting Indonesia during the first five months of 2025. List of Top 10 […]

A 46 year old Swiss tourist, Benedikt Emmenegger, sustained serious injuries while descending Mount Rinjani in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, on Wednesday, 16 July 2025. The incident occurred shortly after he reached the summit of the mountain and was making his way down towards Segara Anak Lake via the Pelawangan Sembalun trail. Chairman of the […]

On Monday, 7 July 2025, US President Donald Trump announced the imposition of import tariffs on 14 countries, including Indonesia, declaring that Indonesian products would face a tariff rate of 32%. According to Mr Trump, these tariffs were scheduled to come into effect on 1 August 2025. “The tariff imposed for Indonesia is 32%, which […]

Expat Property

Indonesia Visas

Expat Event

Social Networking Event
150,000
OZONE Bar
Business Networking
150,000
Manaw – Contemporary Thai Dining
Social Networking Event
200.000
H BAR SCBD

Indonesia Guide

Just For Fun

Write For Us

Exclusive Promotions

Event Gallery