Susi Air

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Susi Air
IATA
SI		 ICAO
SIA		 Callsign
SUSI AIR
Founded 2004
Hubs
Fleet size 37
Destinations 39
Parent company PT ASI Pudjiastuti Aviation
Headquarters Pangandaran, West Java
Key people Susi Pudjiastuti (CEO), Christian von Strombeck (Director of Operations)
Website http://www.susiair.com

PT ASI Pujiastuti Aviation (Susi Air) is a scheduled and charter airline based in Pangandaran, West Java, Indonesia. The company currently operates from 4 main bases across the Indonesian archipelago. Susi Air is listed in category 2 by Indonesian Civil Aviation Authority for airline safety quality.[1]

Contents

[edit] History

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.

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.

In 2005 a third 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 fourth 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.[2]

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.[3]

The first Garmin G1000 cockpit Grand Caravan arrived in April 2009, another followed shortly after. July 2009 saw the arrival of the first 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. [6].

[edit] Destinations

Susi Air operates charter flights from its 4 main bases in Medan (North Sumatra), 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.

Susi Air operates the following services (at April 2011)[4]:

Cessna 208
Pilatus PC-6

[edit] Fleet

Susi Air is the largest operator of Cessna Grand Caravans in the Asia Pacific region which make up the majority of the companies fleet:

Susi Air Fleet
Aircraft In Fleet Orders Options Passengers Routes Notes
Piaggio P.180 Avanti II 3 1 0 8 VIP Passenger and medivac charter
Cessna C208B Grand Caravan 31 7 0 12 Passenger and cargo charter 20 on order as of Paris airshow 2009.[5][6] Two crashed in 2011.
Pilatus PC-6 Porter 6 0 2 7 Passenger, cargo and survey charter
Air Tractor AT-802 1 0 0 0 Fuel Tanker
Diamond DA42 Twin Star 1 0 0 3 Passenger charter
AgustaWestland Koala 1 0 0 6 [7]
AgustaWestland Grand 1 0 0 7 VIP Charter in Jakarta [8]
Total 44 8 2 Last Updated: January 2012

[edit] Incidents and accidents

In October 2008, a Diamond DA-40 (registration PK-VVL) 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.[9]

An investigation into this accident was conducted by the Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee, which found that the pilot was not licensed in Indonesia, and that the accident was caused by fuel starvation due to the failure of a fuel pump.[10] 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.[10]

On 9 September 2011 a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan (PK-VVE) was destroyed when it crashed in the Pasema District, Indonesia. Both pilots were killed. The airplane carried 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.[11]

Also on the same day, 9 September 2011, another Cessna 208B Grand Caravan (PK-BVQ) slid off the runway at Kupang's El Tari airport. This incident resulted in the aircraft blocking the runway for 50 minutes causing two Boeing 737 commercial flights to divert to Makassar, Sulawesi.[12]

On 23 November 2011 a Cessna 208B Grand Caravan (PK-VVG) was destroyed after a go-around at Sugapa Airport in Nabire, Papua, killing the aircraft's co-pilot and leaving the pilot with severe injuries; the two crew were the only people on the aircraft, which was operating a cargo flight.[13] The plane crash occurred after avoiding a runway jaywalker at a poorly managed runway in the Bintang Mountains in West Papua. The pilot decided to fly back up, but the area was surrounded by mountains and cliffs, causing the accident. The exact cause of the accident however will be determined after further investigation.[14]

[edit] Blue Sky Network

Susi Air has equipped its aircraft with an advanced satellite tracking system from Blue Sky Network. The system allows the company to track aircraft movements via the Iridium network of satellites. The system also allows for voice calls to and from the aircraft over the Iridium satellite network, as well as for the sending and receiving of short-code messages.

Susi Air is the Indonesian reseller for Blue Sky Networks.[15]

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://hubud.dephub.go.id/?en+news+detail+1464+8
  2. ^ Susi Air History
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ [2]
  5. ^ Cessna crowing over its orders for 26 aircraft 20 February 2008
  6. ^ Cessna Announces Order from Indonesia’s Susi Air for 30 Grand Caravan Aircraft 16 June 2009
  7. ^ Susi Air Orders An AW119 Ke And A Grand 15 June 2009
  8. ^ http://www.agustawestland.com/news/susi-air-orders-aw119-ke-and-grand/ Susi Air Orders An AW119 Ke And A Grand 15 June 2009
  9. ^ [3]
  10. ^ a b "Aircraft Accident Investigation Report". National Transportation. 28 October 2008. Archived from the original on 23 November 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/63Q3LepRg. Retrieved 23 November 2011. 
  11. ^ [4]
  12. ^ [5]
  13. ^ "Susi Air co-pilot dies in airplane crash". Flightglobal.com. 23 November 2011. Archived from the original on 23 November 2011. http://www.webcitation.org/63Q4A8EQR. Retrieved 23 November 2011. 
  14. ^ "Plane crashes in Papua after avoiding runway jaywalker". November 24, 2011. http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/11/24/plane-crashes-papua-after-avoiding-runway-jaywalker.html. 
  15. ^ Blue Sky Network Global Partners

[edit] External links

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Scheduled1
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Cargo
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Planned
Defunct
1 Mainline and regional.   2 Flag carrier.
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