On September 5, 2005 at 10:15 a.m. WIB (UTC+7),[1]: 2  the aircraft stalled and crashed into a heavily populated residential area seconds after taking off from Polonia International Airport.

[2][1] The Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC) concluded that the crash was caused by the actions of the flight crew, in that they did not configure the aircraft properly for take-off.

Among the passengers were the incumbent governor of North Sumatra, Rizal Nurdin, and his immediate predecessor, Raja Inal Siregar.

Nurdin was flying with his daughter to attend a national Indonesian governors meeting with then-President of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

[1] The aircraft then struck several approach lights located at the end of the runway before traveling across grass, crossing a small river and finally crashing onto the crowded Djamin Ginting road.

[15] It continued to slide onto the road, hitting multiple cars, bikes, powerlines and streetlamps and destroying several shops and houses.

[19][20] The situation was chaotic and was filled with screams of residents who were searching for their relatives and families in the neighborhood, while dozens of people were seen running with their clothes alight.

As rescuers had not arrived at the crash site, multiple victims had already been transported with private cars and public minibuses.

The chaotic situation and crowded condition of the crash site rendered the evacuation process to be difficult.

[23][1] Survivors escaped from the burning aircraft through a gaping hole at the front part of the remaining aft fuselage.

[25] On the night of September 5, the Indonesian Minister of Transportation Hatta Rajasa announced the death toll from the crash.

A passenger told Indonesian news channel MetroTV from hospital that he and five other people seated in the back of the plane in Row 20 had all survived.

The survivor said he escaped the blazing wreck by jumping through the torn fuselage and fleeing on foot as four large explosions erupted behind him.

[30][2] In response to the death of Senator Abdul Halim, the Indonesian Regional Representative Council declared 3 days of mourning.

[32] The North Sumatra provincial government also declared 3 days of mourning and ordered flags to be flown at half-mast throughout the province.

[34] He postponed the national Indonesian governors meeting in Jakarta and decided to visit the crash site.

[37] Speaker of the 5th Commission, Sofyan Mille, also asked the Indonesian government to regulate low-cost carriers in Indonesia in order to prevent "cost-cutting".

[38] In the following days, the Indonesian Ministry of Transportation conducted a "special check" on multiple Boeing 737-200s from various domestic airliners at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

[42] This decision, however, was met with opposition from members of several parties due to alleged falsified academic certificate.

[49] One day after the crash, officials stated that they had not been able to identify 60 dead bodies and that a mass grave would be dug.

[54] Even though both recorders were found in good condition, NTSC noted that there was a malfunction on the cockpit area microphone (CAM).

[56] However, this contradicted statements from multiple witnesses who claimed that there were dozens of durians lying around the crash site.

[59] Hatta decided not to comment on the matter, opting to remind the public and the media to not speculate on the cause of the crash.

[60] Calculations made by investigators later concluded that the center of gravity had not shifted and that the aircraft was stable for take-off.

NTSC expressed their disappointment over these reports and asked the public and the media not to issue unconfirmed information on the possible causes of the crash as the investigation was still ongoing.

On 29 January 2003, while rolling to take off from Achmad Yani International Airport in Semarang, the left engine caught fire.

[1] The official final report on the accident was published by the National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC) of Indonesia on 1 January 2009.

Additional lack of infrastructure led to confusion among the rescuers to locate the crash site, thus hampering the search and rescue effort.

[1] NTSC issued several recommendations to Mandala Airlines and the Indonesian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

[1] Prior to the crash of Mandala Airlines Flight 091, members of the National Transportation Safety Committee worked voluntarily, receiving no salary from the Indonesian government.