A Merpati Nusantara Airlines 737-300 (PK-MDE) slid off the end of the runway and into a river while landing at Rendani Airport (MKW) in Manokwari, Indonesia Tuesday morning and split in two, injuring 23 of the 103 passengers and crew on board. Two of the injured were in critical condition.
The flight from Sorong, West Papua was landing in heavy rain.
This is Merpati’s third accident in the past six months. In August, a Merpati Twin Otter crashed near Papua, killing all 13 passengers and 3 crew members. On December 3rd, a Merpati Fokker 100 made an emergency landing when its left main landing gear failed to extend. No one was injured in that incident.