A Lion Air Boeing 737 collided with the terminal building at Mopah International Airport in Merauke, South Papua, Indonesia. The incident occurred on Thursday, January 26th, on a flight bound for Jayapura and no injuries have been reported.The Boeing 737-900 was scheduled to depart for the provincial capital Jayapura on flight JT767. Shortly after 09:00, as the plane was departing stand No 5, heading towards Runway 34, the winglet struck a jetbridge on the airport terminal building. Footage posted by passengers shows the plane continuing for a moment before returning to the terminal area. The terminal building and the aircraft both sustained significant structural damage.

The airport is one of the easternmost in the country and serves as the main gateway to several tourist destinations around Merauke, the most notable of which is Wasur National Park.

What happened next?

The aircraft was carrying 117 adult passengers, 4 children, one toddler, and 7 crewmembers at the time of the incident. Footage posted by passengers on the aircraft shows the aircraft continuing down the taxiway before eventually returning to stand No 6. The affected passengers were given the option of transferring to another flight or receiving a refund.

Upon its return to the gate, ground personnel checked the entire body of the aircraft, and the aircraft was declared AOG (Aircraft on Ground) by an examination technician. The aircraft remains grounded and subsequent rotations by the aircraft have been canceled. The 15-year-old aircraft began service with Lion Air in February 2008 and belongs to lessor Aergo Capital.

The aircraft operates on a three-leg rotation basis. The daily service is scheduled to depart Merauke for Jayapura Sentani Airport at 09:10 local time. The same aircraft then continues on to Makassar Sultan Hasanuddin International, and then to Jakarta Soekarno Hatta International.

Lion Air Group denied the incident of the plane wing crashing into the jet bridge was due to the negligence of the flight crew. Danang Mandala Prihantoro, the head of Corporate Communications Strategic of Lion Air, confirmed to local news that no cause could be identified as of press time, although it has been suggested the aircraft was attempting to avoid an obstacle on the runway:

"Following up on the incident, Lion Air and the relevant authorities are currently conducting further investigations. Lion Air cannot speculate or provide information about the cause. The investigation process takes significant time to get recommendations."

Lion Air is currently working with the relevant authorities to investigate the incident. Merauke Police Drug Unit will also test all the active flight crew.

Source: IndoAviation, Republika