.jpg) PK-RIM, the aircraft involved, seen at Soekarno–Hatta International Airport, in 2004. | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 5 September 2005 |
| Summary | Crashed shortly after take-off due to improper configuration |
| Site | Polonia International Airport Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia 3°32′47″N 98°39′32″E / 3.5465°N 98.6589°E |
| Total fatalities | 149 |
| Total injuries | 43 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 737-230 Adv |
| Operator | Mandala Airlines |
| IATA flight No. | RI091 |
| ICAO flight No. | MDL091 |
| Call sign | MANDALA 091 |
| Registration | PK-RIM |
| Flight origin | Polonia International Airport Medan, Indonesia |
| Destination | Soekarno-Hatta Int'l Airport Jakarta, Indonesia |
| Occupants | 117 |
| Passengers | 112 |
| Crew | 5 |
| Fatalities | 100 |
| Injuries | 15[1]: 3 |
| Survivors | 17 |
| Ground casualties | |
| Ground fatalities | 49 |
| Ground injuries | 26 |
Mandala Airlines Flight 091 (RI091/MDL091) was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Medan to Jakarta, operated by Mandala Airlines with a Boeing 737-200Adv. On September 5, 2005 at 10:15 a.m. WIB (UTC+7),[1]: 2 the aircraft stalled and crashed into a heavily populated residential area seconds after taking off from Polonia International Airport. Of the 117 passengers and crews on board, only 17 survived. An additional 49 civilians on the ground were killed.[2]
The crash of Flight 091 was a shock to North Sumatrans as the leader of North Sumatra province, Governor Rizal Nurdin, and his predecessor Raja Inal Siregar, were among the passengers and both were killed in the crash. There were 149 fatalities, making it the deadliest aviation accident involving a Boeing 737-200. It was the second deadliest airliner accident in Indonesia after Garuda Indonesia Flight 152, but is now the fourth-deadliest after being surpassed by the crashes of Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 and Lion Air Flight 610.[2][1]
The Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC) concluded that the crash was caused by the actions of the flight crew, in that they did not configure the aircraft properly for take-off. The retracted flaps and slats resulted in the aircraft being unable to fly due to insufficient lift. The aircraft take-off warning was not heard and investigators stated that it was possible the pilots did not receive a warning about the improper configuration, and were therefore unaware of their erroneous actions.[2][1]