Susi Air
Susi Air was established in late 2004 by husband and wife team Christian von Strombeck and Susi Pudjiastuti, it was originally setup to transport the fisheries cargo of sister company PT ASI Pudjiastuti, because land transportation to Jakarta takes around 12 hours and its too long for fresh and live fishes and lobster.
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake triggered devastating Tsunami's along the Western coast of Sumatra. The 2 new Cessna Grand Caravan's that had just been ordered by Susi Air were very quickly pressed into service transporting equipment and medicine for aid agencies. Susi Air aircraft is the 1st plane lands in Aceh after Tsunami. Along 2005 Susi's planes are chartered by NGOs in Aceh and makes cash cow which makes possible to buy a plane in 2006.
In 2006 a 3rd Grand Caravan was added which enabled the company to begin scheduled services out of Medan, capital of North Sumatra. In late 2006 this aircraft was moved to Jayapura, Papua, to establish a base in what is one of the more challenging flying environments in the world.
A 4th Grand Caravan was added to the fleet in early 2007 along with the addition of a new type, the Diamond Twin Star, for use on charter flights as well as opening up the possibility for training of their own pilots. By the end of 2007 another 4 Grand Caravans had been added to the fleet along with the addition of 2 of a further type for the company, the Pilatus Turbo Porter.
In 2008 a Diamond Diamond Star was added to the fleet for use by the Susi Flying School based at the company headquarters in Pangandaran, West Java thus furthering the company's commitment to train local pilots. The ninth Grand Caravan arrived in May continuing the steady growth of the company. September 2008 saw the arrival of the tenth Grand Caravan. In October the Diamond Star aircraft suffered an Engine Failure and successfully made a forced landing near Bandung.
The 1st Garmin G1000 cockpit Grand Caravan arrived in April 2009, another followed shortly after. July 2009 saw the arrival of the 1st Piaggio Avanti.
Susi Air is known within Indonesia for hiring its pilots from overseas and mainly from Western Countries due to the lack of Indonesia pilots trained in Indonesia. Indonesia has strict rules of the amount of foreign professionals any one company can employ. In a news article in 2011 Susi Pujiastuti stated that out of her 179 pilots 175 were from overseas.
Susi Air operates charter flights from its 4 main bases in Medan, East Jakarta (Jakarta), Balikpapan (East Kalimantan) and Jayapura (Papua). Daily scheduled flights are operated out of Medan to Ngan Raya Airport (Meulaboh), Lasikin Airport (Simeulue Island), Silangit Airport and Aek Godang Airport.
In October 2008, a Diamond DA-40 from Susi Air made an emergency landing on a firing range in the hilly Army Infantry Training Center compound, some 40 kilometers from the West Java provincial capital Bandung. The pilot was forced to make an emergency landing because of a fuel pump failure. The aircraft's propeller gear was damaged after hitting the ground on the uneven grass field. Besides the Pilot, the airplane was carrying two mechanics to fix another Susi Air airplane that had broken down at Nusawiru airport.
An investigation into this accident was conducted by the Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee, which found that the pilot wasn't licensed in Indonesia, and that the accident was caused by fuel starvation due to the failure of a fuel pump. The committee said that Susi Air should ensure all pilots have sufficient licenses and that the engine manufacturer, Thielert, should review its engines in order to prevent similar incidents.
On 9 September 2011 a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan was destroyed when it crashed in the Pasema District, Indonesia. Both pilots were killed. The airplane was carrying four drums of diesel fuel and some goods from Wamena to a remote airstrip. It failed to arrive at the destination. The wreckage was found in mountainous terrain in the Yahukimo District. The name of the airstrip has been named as Kenyem and Kenyam in Indonesian media. This is the same airstrip which is named Keneyan in the Australian Defence Force's Tactical Airfield Guide of the region.
Also on the same day, 9 September 2011, another Cessna 208B Grand Caravan was mistakenly reported to have slid off the runway at Kupang's El Tari airport. The aircraft suffered a flat tyre during landing and was stuck on the runway. As ground personnel arrived at the aircraft, the decision was made to push the aircraft off the runway in order to reopen the runway. The pictures taken of the aircraft on the grass led to a story of a runway excursion. This incident resulted in the aircraft blocking the runway for 50 minutes causing two Boeing 737 commercial flights to divert to Makassar, Sulawesi.
On April 25, 2012 a PC 6 crashed in Kalimantan Timur, Melak district killing the pilot and passenger(s) which was engaged in Aerial Survey of the area. The aircraft was reported missing at 1710 LT on the 25th April with the wreckage found on the 26th April confirming the condition of the occupants/aircraft.
As a result of this safety record, United States Embassy personnel as of May 2012 are prohibited from flying on Susi Air.
Related Sites for Susi Air
- --- SUSI AIR -- Passenger and Cargo Aircraft Charter read Susi Air
- --- SUSI AIR -- Passenger and Cargo Aircraft Charter read Susi Air
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