Hawk-200 warplane crashes in Riau<\/p>\n
M. Ara Syaf, The Jakarta Post, Pekanbaru<\/p>\n
An Air Force Hawk-200 jet fighter crashed on Friday at an air
\nbase in Riau's provincial capital, Pekanbaru, followed by
\nconflicting explanations regarding the cause of the crash.<\/p>\n
The aircraft's pilot, Major Agung Sasongko Jati, survived the
\naccident by ejecting from the plane. Agung, who is an instructor
\nin the Sky Hawk Squadron, also pilots U.S.-manufactured F-16
\nFalcon bombers in Madiun, East Java.<\/p>\n
Eyewitnesses, who requested anonymity, said the accident
\noccurred when the fighter failed to take off properly at the air
\nbase in Simpang Tiga at 9:09 a.m. local time on Friday, and
\ncrashed into a swampy area, catching fire minutes later.<\/p>\n
They said the fire, thought to have broken out when the
\naircraft's full load of fuel ignited, produced a thick cloud of
\nsmoke at the crash site, forcing a suspension of flights at the
\nnearby Sultan Syarief airport for one hour.<\/p>\n
A reliable source, who also requested anonymity, said he did
\nnot know the cause of the accident but said, "I saw that the
\nfighter was badly damaged ... it's lucky that the pilot survived
\nthe accident."<\/p>\n
Second Lt. Syarif Amir, spokesman for the air base, rejected
\nthe witnesses' accounts of the crash, saying it was a minor
\naccident and that the warplane had not caught fire.<\/p>\n
"The accident is not as severe as witnesses have stated," he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Syarif said a minor accident occurred when the plane slid into
\na swampy area around 20 meters off the landing strip as the pilot
\nwas attempting to land.<\/p>\n
"It's a minor accident and not fatal. A team of technicians
\nare making the necessary repairs and in a short time the plane
\nwill be able to be used for training again," he said.<\/p>\n
Although denying that the plane had caught fire, he admitted
\nthat five water tankers had been deployed to the crash site but
\nadded that only three had been used, while the other two remained
\non standby.<\/p>\n
Later, Air Force spokesman Rear Marshal Imam Wahyudi clarified
\nthat the training jet was irreparably damaged in the accident
\nafter trying to take off.<\/p>\n
He said the plane, produced in 1997, was in a condition to fly
\nand all safety procedures had been conducted prior to take-off.<\/p>\n
"Today, a team has been sent to Pekanbaru to investigate the
\ncause of the crash," he said.<\/p>\n
The crash was the third involving a Hawk aircraft since the
\nAir Force purchased 24 Hawk-100 and Hawk-200 jet fighters from
\nBritish Aerospace Plc. in Britain in 1993. The eight Hawk-100
\ntrainers and 16 ground attack Hawk-200 fighters were bought at a
\ncost of 500 million pounds (US$770 million). Late Indonesia
\npurchased another 16 Hawk-100 and Hawk-200 jet fighters.<\/p>\n
The two previous accidents involving fighters of the same
\nmodel occurred at the Pekanbaru airbase on April 26, 2000, and at
\nSupadio air base in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, on Oct. 19, 2000,
\nrespectively.<\/p>\n
The Air Force also lost two of its 12 F-16 jet bombers in two
\nseparate crashes in Jakarta and Madiun several years ago.<\/p>\n
Besides the remaining 37 Hawk fighters and 10 F-16 Falcon
\nbombers, the Air Force is also operating several F-5 Tigers.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/hawk-200-warplane-crashes-in-riau-1447893297",
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