A Second Bali Tourist Helicopter Flight Gets Tangled In Kite Strings

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A second helicopter in Bali has had to make an emergency landing after getting tangled in kite strings.

The news comes just days after a helicopter carrying tourists on a scenic flight over Uluwatu crashed after kite strings got caught in the rotor. 

The Head of the Regional IV Airport Authority Office, Agustinus Budi Hartono, has confirmed that a second helicopter carrying tourists on a scenic flight over the Bukit Peninsula had to make an emergency landing after the rotor blade became tangled in kite strings on Monday morning.

The incident took place at 9.46 WITA. The helicopter was able to make a safe landing, and there have been no reported injuries.

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Hartono told reporters, “It’s true, the string is small, not as big as [the incident at Sultan Beach], but this is also a record that there was another kite string entanglement this morning about the GWK Cultural Park area.”

According to the records gathered by the Aiprot Authority Office (Otban) the scenic tourist flight was polluted by Adhi Tri Budiono, who was flying two passengers on the Nusa Dua – GWK Cultural Park – Uluwatu route.

Hartono confirmed, “The entire helicopter crew and passengers are safe; according to information obtained, the helicopter was hit by a kite string at a height of approximately 900 feet.”

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Seeing as this is yet another helicopter that has been caught in kite stings this month (there have been anecdotal reports of a third entanglement in early July, which did not involve an emergency landing), the Acting Governor of Bali, Sang Made Mahendra Jaya, has been contacted to step in and manage the situation from a provincial government level. 

The Bali Provincial Government Office will work with the Airport Authority Office to ensure the newly established Kite Task Force has all the resources and support they need to best communicate to the public when, where, and how they can fly kites this season. 

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Hartono told reporters, “Fortunately, now we have a task force. Basically, all policymakers or relevant stakeholders have groups such as Satpol PP, Transportation Service, PMA Service, Airnav, Otban, and TNI AU so that if there is any information, we will immediately transmit it.”

“In addition, I saw that there was a Satpol PP unit covering kites in the GWK area. We are not controlling kites, but we have met with the Acting Governor, and the Acting Governor is very concerned about safety, but it is impossible to eliminate kites; they have to be in line [with the law].”

Scenic helicopter flights have become one of the most popular luxury tourism activities in Bali in recent years, with tour providers operating flights over the Bukit Peninsula, through to attractions in Tabanan Regency such as Tanah Lot Temple and further inland towards Ubud, and even as far and Kintamani soo passengers can gain aerial views of Mount Batur. 

This month’s events have tourists asking serious questions about the safety of these kinds of experiences, and the Acting Governor of Bali has pledged to ensure that safety standards are upheld across the board.

Following the crash at Suluban Beach, where a helicopter carrying Australian tourists crash-landed after getting caught in kite strings, Acting Governor Jaya pledged, “We will immediately take strategic steps to avoid a repeat of the recent helicopter crash caused by entangled kite strings.”

There are already laws in place that stipulate where the public can fly kites and how high, though Civil Police Officers from the Satpol PP have told reporters that many community members do not take these rules seriously.

Speaking last week, the Head of Satpol PP, Nyoman Rai Dharmadi, said, “We are often bullied by the public as if Satpol PP doesn’t have bigger jobs, but kites are taken care of. People don’t understand that the consequences of careless kite flying can have fatal consequences.”

Dharmadi has called on community support to ensure kite flying remains a fun and safe activity for all. He said, “We hope to be consistent and assisted by friends from traditional villages and official villages so that we can help the community so that it doesn’t happen again because [kites are being flown too] near the airport runway.”