Plane Crash in Indonesia The plane crashed in

Plane Crash in Indonesia The plane crashed in a crowded Medan neighborhood killing at least 147 people

Crash kills many § Plane crashed shortly after taking off from Medan on Monday § Killed 102 on board and 47 on the ground § Cause of the crash is still unknown to authorities

Mandala Airlines Jetliner § Boeing 737 -200 § 112 passengers and 5 crew § Flight to Jakarta, Indonesia § Left from Medan’s Polonia airport § Mandala Airlines Flight 091

Survivors § Miraculously 15 passengers in the tail of the plane survived, including a toddler and are being treated at a local hospital § Survivors said the plane started shaking at takeoff and failed to clear landing systems at the end of the runway § The airplane clipped a riverbank, swerved right and plowed into homes on a busy street

Plane causes inferno in neighborhood § The plane crashed into one of the busiest streets in a Medan neighborhood § Homes began to catch fire immediately § At least 12 homes were destroyed and 5 to 6 minibuses

One Woman’s Story § “At first I heard a bang and then I looked up (to the ceiling) and there were balls of fire and then my son and daughter-in-law came to get me, ” said Mariam sitting in the blackened wreckage of her home.

Investigation § Police found the black box and flight recorder late Monday night § It will be sent overseas for investigation § At this point too early to determine the cause of the crash § President Yudhoyona ordered and investigation by the transportation minister § Mandala says foul play in unlikely

Background Information § Second plane crash in less than a year: in November of last year a plane in Java skidded off the runway killing 31 and injuring dozens more § The aircraft was built in 1981 and fit for 8 more years of flying § Worst Indonesian crash in 1997 was a Garuda flight killing all 222 passengers and 12 crew

More Background § Mandala Airlines is one of Indonesia’s oldest private carriers § Medan is 885 miles NW of Jakarta on Sumatra island § One of Indonesia’s busiest airports § Major gateway for aid into the tsunamihit Aceh province

The Devastation