Aerosport Plane Crashes and Burns in Blora Rice Fields

An aerosport aircraft of the fixed-wing Sky Ranger type crashed and caught fire in a rice field in Sarimulyo Village, Ngawen District, Blora Regency, Central Java, on Sunday at around 12.10 p.m. Western Indonesia Time.

Blora Police Criminal Investigation Unit Head AKP Zaenul Arifin said the aircraft experienced engine trouble while flying from Pangandaran, West Java, to Malang, East Java.

“The aircraft experienced a problem in flight and therefore made an emergency landing in a rice field,” he said in Blora on Sunday.

Before continuing its flight to Malang, the aircraft had landed at Adisutjipto Airport in Yogyakarta to refuel.

After taking off again, the aircraft encountered engine trouble while passing over the Blora Regency area.

The pilot then attempted to make an emergency landing in a rice field.

However, the aircraft crashed and caught fire after the emergency landing.

The two crew members, pilot Dhoni Vasmin A (39) and co-pilot Ignatius Andreas (31), managed to save themselves before the aircraft caught fire. Both were reported to have survived with minor injuries and received treatment at Ngawen Community Health Centre.

Meanwhile, the aircraft suffered severe damage from the impact and fire. The fuselage was wrecked and charred, leaving mostly debris at the scene.

Police and relevant agencies are still securing and examining the site to determine the exact cause of the accident. Blora Police Inafis officers have also conducted an examination at the scene and put up police tape.

Zaenul stressed that the aircraft was an aerosport aircraft and not a military aircraft.

“The flight was carried out for training and checking the condition of the fleet ahead of an air show,” he said.

The aerosport aircraft was under the auspices of the Indonesian Aerosport Federation (FASI).