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Downed Heli’s Portend Bali AviationThreat

Despite a long-standing provincial regulation published in 2000 restricting kite flying within a 54-kilometer radius of Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport (Perda No. 9 Pasal 2 pada Perda Nomor 9/2000 tentang Larangan Menaikkan Layang-Layang Permainan Sejenis di Bandara Udara Ngurah Rai dan Sekitarnya), this rule sadly remains largely ignored and unenforced. Those seeking proof of any blatant failure of Bali officials to enforce the laws addressing kite flying and traffic safety need only look southward of an arch stretching east-to-west from Tabanan-Kintamani-Manggis all falling within the airspace restricted for kites flying.

Sadly, more concrete proof of the threat posed to aviation safety by errant kite flying in Bali is the separate downing of two commercial helicopters on 02 and 19 July 2024 when their rotors became entangled in kite lines. While the first incident resulted in an emergency landing, the second precipitated a crash landing near Suluban Beach, destroying a Bell 505 Helicopter that sent five passengers and crew to the hospital. 

Recent Helicopter Mishaps in Bali

Passengers flying on fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters arriving and departing Bali’s Airport traffic pattern are frequently treated to a sudden and terrifying close-range view of large kites flying in mid-air near their aircraft. Adding to this dramatic situation is the frequent local practice of anchoring kites unsupervised overnight and even for subsequent days on end, creating a sustained and sometimes invisible threat to the safety of any aircraft flying in Bali after dark.

The Flight Rules: Kite Flying in Bali 

The Provincial Law promulgated in 2000 sets particular altitude levels and spatial limits that are “mandatory” for governing the interaction of kites and other flying  apparatus with all forms of commercial aircraft, namely:

Penalties

While enforcement of the kite restriction laws has been arguably lax, official penalties provide three months imprisonment or a fine of Rp. 5 million for any individual or persons involved in operating a kite in the restricted zone.

Other Airborne Apparatus

The limitations on flying in the “restricted zone” apply to kites, hot-air balloons, parasails, ultra-light aircraft, drones, and even fireworks.

Investigations continue into both incidents to determine what, including the regulations on kite flying, was violated. However, the head of the Bali Provincial Enforcement Authority (Satpol PP Bali), Dewa Nyoman Rai Darmadi, has admitted his teams are often outwitted by area residents who openly ignore the kite-flying regulations. 

Somewhat surprisingly and to no small degree disingenuously, Darmadi is linking the problem to the failure of parents in Bali to control their children, when in fact, many kites are joint projects of local communities (banjars) dominated by older men. 

Darmadi also admitted that enforcement of the kite-flying regulations, when it does take place, is done selectively. “In fact, in every international major event, we work with the State Power Board (PLN) and the airport authority to control kites. This takes place pre-event and post-event,” he explained.

When Satpol PP took action against erring kites, they discovered that their owners had deliberately tied them to trees and then returned home, leaving them unsupervised for days.

Commenting optimistically. Darmadi added: “Hopefully, all components of society will participate and play an active role in reminding and caring about kites that are flown high and how they can endanger air traffic and air transportation.”

More Severe Ramifications Ahead?

In light of the two recent helicopter downings in Bali linked to errant kite flying and a widespread view that government measures to reduce the kite-related threat to safety have proven ineffective or inadequate, fears are growing that there may be larger, even international ramifications ahead.

Some aviation industry observers are concerned that the Island’s tourism industry could be severely impacted if The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) becomes involved or foreign governments that are the source nations for Balinese tourists, in an overabundance of caution, issue international travel warnings warning against air travel to and from Bali.

Related Links

02 July 2024 Kite Downs Helicopter in South Bali

19 July 2024  Bali Helitour Helicopter Crashes in Pecatu

Kites Near Bali’s Airport Threatens Safety

Warning: Bali Kites Can Kill

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