Merpati MA60 Crashes, Killing 25

A Xi’an Aircraft MA60 operated by Indonesia’s Merpati Nusantara Airlines crashed on May 7 into Kaimana Bay, some 1,500 feet short of the Utarung Airport runway in Kaimana, West Papua province, killing all 25 occupants. The scheduled flight had originated in Sorong, West Papua, at 12:40 p.m. local time and crashed at about 2 p.m. in heavy rain and high winds. Merpati has taken delivery of 13 of 15 XAC MA60s on order; however, Indonesian government officials already have called for an investigation into the procurement of the final two and have suggested returning the remaining 12 to their Chinese manufacturer.