Indonesian authorities have located the wreckage of a fisheries surveillance aircraft that went missing in South Sulawesi province. However, search teams are still racing to find the 11 people who were on board, officials confirmed on Sunday.
The ATR 42-500 turboprop aircraft, operated by Indonesia Air Transport, lost contact with air traffic control at around 1:30 pm local time on Saturday while flying over the Maros region. The aircraft had been chartered by Indonesia Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries to conduct aerial fisheries surveillance.
According to authorities, the plane was carrying eight crew members and three passengers. All of them were ministry staff. It had departed from Yogyakarta province and was en route to Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi, when communication was abruptly lost.
📰A government-operated ATR 42-500 (PK-THT) conducting a marine and fisheries surveillance mission was reported to have gone down in South Sulawesi earlier today.
The aircraft was flying from Yogyakarta to Makassar when contact was lost at approximately 1:17 PM local time over… pic.twitter.com/xa5FR6mcK7
— AirNav Radar (@AirNavRadar) January 17, 2026Muhammad Arif Anwar, head of South Sulawesi’s rescue agency, said that following the discovery of the wreckage, around 1,200 personnel would be deployed for a large-scale search and rescue operation. Speaking to local television, he said the priority was to locate the victims and evacuate anyone found alive.
On Sunday morning, rescue teams confirmed that debris from the aircraft was spotted in several locations around Mount Bulusaraung in the Maros area. Andi Sultan, an official at the provincial rescue agency, said helicopter crews first identified a window fragment at 7:46 am. Minutes later, they saw larger sections believed to be part of the fuselage. The tail section was also sighted at the bottom of a mountain slope.
Indonesian ATR 42-500 Plane Crash Leaves No Survivors, All 11 Onboard Killed as Rescuers Search Wreckage! pic.twitter.com/DAtFIXxRWu
— Aviation Voice (@Aviation_Voice) January 18, 2026Rescue operations have been severely hampered by dense fog, strong winds, and rugged mountainous terrain. Video footage released by the rescue agency showed aircraft debris scattered across the mountainside amid poor visibility. This underlines the challenges faced by ground teams attempting to reach the crash site.
Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee will lead the investigation into the incident. Officials said it was too early to determine the cause of the crash, noting that aviation accidents often result from a combination of factors.
The ATR 42-500 is a regional turboprop aircraft manufactured by ATR, capable of carrying 42-50 passengers. Flight tracking service Flightradar24 said the aircraft was flying at low altitude over water, which limited tracking coverage. The last recorded signal was received about 20 kilometres northeast of Makassar airport.
Search teams remain on high alert as efforts continue to locate the missing crew and passengers amid difficult conditions.
