At least 10 injured in Colorado hot air balloon crashes

DENVER (Reuters) - Gusty winds forced the crash landings of four hot air balloons in separate mishaps on Saturday northwest of Denver, leaving at least 10 people hurt, but none of the injuries was life-threatening, authorities said.

All of the aborted flights occurred in wide-open areas frequented by balloon enthusiasts, according to Dana Lewis, a spokesman for the Rocky Mountain Fire Protection District.

National Weather Service meteorologist Jim Kalina said sustained winds of 20 to 30 miles an hour, with gusts of up to 35 mph, were reported in the area at the time of the crash landings.

Lewis said one balloon carrying 10 passengers and a pilot went down inside the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge, injuring five people, one of whom suffered "a fairly significant ankle injury."

In Boulder County, a balloon with a pilot and 11 passengers "impacted the ground hard" inside a wildlife conservation area, said local sheriff's spokesman Deputy Mitch Rosebrough.

"The weather conditions were calm and warm early this morning, but changed to gusty winds at the time of the crash," Rosebrough said. Two passengers were transported to a local hospital with neck and back injuries, he said.

In neighboring Arvada, the pilot of a balloon was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, and two passengers were treated at the scene after the aircraft crash landed, said Scott Pribble, spokesman for the Arvada Fire Protection District.

A fourth balloon went down in nearby Louisville, Colorado, but there were no reports of injuries.

Separately, a small airplane crashed on Saturday in a remote corner of the Great Sand Dunes National Park, about 230 miles southwest of Denver, killing one person aboard the aircraft and injuring two others, a park spokeswoman said.

(Reporting by Keith Coffman; Editing by Steve Gorman and Eric Walsh)

Via Yahoo News!

Plane with 27 people crashes in Indonesia

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A passenger plane carrying 27 people crashed Saturday as it was about to land in bad weather in Indonesia's eastern province of West Papua, killing at least 15, officials said.

Transportation ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan said the Chinese-made Xian MA60 twin-turboprop plane belonging to a state-owned airline went down just before landing in Kaimana. The flight originated in Sorong, another town in the province.

"Given the condition of the wreckage of the ill-fated plane, it is hard to say that there are any survivors," Ervan said.

Police Lt. Col. Antonius Wantri Julianto said 15 bodies had been found and rescuers were searching for other victims. They were hampered by heavy rain.

Nuno Sampurno, chief of the National Search and Rescue Agency, said the plane crashed into Kaimana Bay, several hundred yards from the airport.

Sampurno said the crash was believed to have been caused by bad weather which limited visibility.

The passengers included an infant and two children, Ervan said.

The Kompas daily newspaper said the plane was one of four MA60s owned by Merpati Nusantara Airlines.

Indonesia, an archipelago nation with more than 17,000 islands and 235 million people, has been plagued by a string of transportation accidents in recent years, from plane and train crashes to ferry sinkings. Overcrowding, aging infrastructure and poor safety standards are often to blame.

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Indonesian plane crashes into ocean

NEW: 15 bodies, including those of children, are recovered, official saysNEW: Authorities: Search continues for survivors of the plane crash 21 passengers, six crew members were aboard the flight, official saysThe cause of the accident is under investigation, the transportation ministry says

Jakarta, Indonesia (CNN) -- Fifteen bodies were recovered Saturday from the wreckage of an airplane that crashed into the ocean while preparing to land in the Indonesian province of West Papua, officials said.

Rescuers were searching for survivors of the Merpati Nusantara Airlines crash just off the coast of Kaimana, said Bambang Ervan, a spokesman for the Indonesian transportation ministry.

There were 21 passengers and six crew members aboard the plane, a turbo-propeller MA60, he said.

Ervan could not immediately confirm any casualties, though a Kaimana Airport ticket agent told CNN that at least 15 bodies have been recovered.

The agent, identified as Polly H., said there were children among the casualties, though she could not say how many.

Among the passengers on the flight were 18 adults, two children and one infant, Ervan said.

Search and rescue teams were still searching the waters off Kaimana for survivors, the ticket agent said.

The plane crashed shortly before 2 p.m. local time. The cause of the crash was under investigation, Ervan said.

Merpati, a cash-strapped state-owned airline with an aging fleet, flies many of the more remote routes in Indonesia.

In 2010, a Merpati airplane overshot the runway at the Rendai airport in Manokwari, West Papua, injuring 78 people.

A year earlier, two Merpati planes crashed within two months of each other in Papua.

The first occurred in July 2009 when a Merpati flight lost its front wheels as it took of from Biak. A month later, another flight -- a Twin Otter aircraft -- crashed, killing 16 people on board.

Indonesia has made efforts in recent years to improve its safety record.

CNN's Kathy Quiano contributed to this report.

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