Just recently, an Indonesian passenger plane, that was carrying more than 100 people, veered off a runway as it tried to land in Papua. The plane then snapped in half as it came to rest in a nearby river. The plane was run by Merpati Nusantara Airlines,

Because of the crash, 20 passengers and at least one member of the cabin crew were injured and taken to the hospital. Several small domestic carriers that serve Indonesia have poor safety records. Papua is about 1,830 miles east of the capital, Jakarta. It is one of the most isolated and underdeveloped places in Indonesia.

There are very few roads in this area, which occupies the western half of the island of New Guinea. Air travel is the most common form of transport. This latest incident occurred when the Merpati Nusantara Airlines plane tried to land in the rain.

Due to the poor safety rating of many airlines in Indonesia, the European Commission recently banned all Indonesia carriers. However, the good news is that the European Commission did lift the band on four carriers from this region. This includes Garuda Indonesia, Mandala, Airfast and Premiair. The ban was lifted, because these airlines were able to improve their safety rating.

Although some of the airlines are enjoying the freedom of not being ban, other airlines are going to have to work hard to join them. Although some events cannot be helped, there are some problems that airlines in Indonesia have that could be helped with better safety practices. In order to lift these bans, these airlines are going to have to really work at improving their safety rating.