XBradTC

I’ve never been to Indonesia, but having casually studied air crash investigations for a couple decades now, I have a couple hard and fast rules about aviation safety.

1. Never fly on a Russian airline.
2. Never fly on an Indonesian airline.
3. Never fly on a plane that is going to crash
4. See Rules 1&2 above.

Indonesia has atrocious weather, poor infrastructure, an occasionally lax aviation regulatory agency, and the attendant astronomical accident rate.  On the other hand, with so much of the island nation scattered about in miniscule hamlets high in the mountains, and virtually no road network, flying is pretty much the only viable means of transportation to many places. The government therefore subsidizes considerable use of small airplanes to provide passenger and freight service throughout the nation. Many of the pilots flying here are British or Europeans seeking to build up enough flying experience to be competitive for regular airlines back in Europe. Then of course, there’s the long, long tradition of eccentric British expatriates making themselves at home in the most remote corners of the world.

Old Air Force Sarge came across this 47 minute video that looks at the bush flying in Indonesia. Spill, my friend, you may want to watch this with your eyes closed. Some of the flying isn’t too bad. Some of it is straight up validation of Rule 2 above.