Air Force Hercules crashes in Aceh
Air Force Hercules crashes in Aceh
Ibnu Mat Noor, The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh
An Air Force Hercules plane No. A 1329 crashed and burned just as it was about to land at around 9:45 a.m. on Thursday at Malikussaleh Airport, some 30 kilometers south of the town of Lhokseumawe in restive North Aceh.
The plane was carrying 95 people, comprising 68 members of the Indonesian Military (TNI), 12 crew and 13 relatives of the military personnel. Some of the personnel were members of the Army's Special Forces (Kopassus), who had just completed their tour of duty in Banda Aceh and were on a plane bound for Lhokseumawe.
Witnesses said that the plane veered about 500 meters off the runway before it crashed into a gate and caught fire.
All of the passengers and crew, however, managed to get off the plane before it exploded fifteen minutes later after a raging fire had broken out.
As of noon, fire fighters and the security forces were still sifting through the wreckage of the plane to collect items such as guns and weaponry.
Army spokesman in Aceh Maj. Zainal Mutaqin confirmed the incident, saying that the people on board only suffered minor injuries and bruises, such as bone fractures. Two military personnel are currently being treated at Lilawangsa Army Hospital in Lhokseumawe.
He emphasized that there was no indication of sabotage and that it was caused by a combination of pilot error and technical failure.
Malikussaleh Airport belongs to PT Arun, a giant LNG multinational corporation, which is located in the industrial town of Lhokseumawe, North Aceh.
The southern part of Malikussaleh is forested, while houses are located just two kilometers or so from the northern tip of the airport.
The airport was closed to civilian flights two years ago following an attack launched by members of the Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatist rebels at one of the aircraft carrying industrial workers, some of whom worked for PT Arun.
Malikussaleh is located about two kilometers from the Banda Aceh outer ringroad.
Air Force Spokesman Commodore Imam Wahyudi confirmed the incident, saying in Jakarta that it was a Hercules C-130 H made in 1980.
"The Air Force now has two Hercules squadrons with 24 Hercules of C-130 type. They are based at Halim Perdanakusuma airbase in Jakarta and Abdurachman Saleh airbase in Malang, East Java. Of the 24 planes, only about six or eight are operable," Imam said.
He said that the pilot failed to smoothly land. "We are investigating the case."
GAM spokesman Amri Abdul Wahab, however, contradicted other claims saying that GAM was responsible for Thursday's plane crash. He said that some 150 GAM members attacked the plane, causing it to slide off the runway and catch fire. Amri declined to give further details.
However, according to local journalists, Amri's claim was unbelievable considering the fact that the airport was swarming with security forces at the time of the incident.
"We still have to recheck statements issued by witnesses and field data again, though," a local journalist said.
Meanwhile, at least seven people were killed in Aceh on Tuesday and Wednesday, three were military personnel and four others were Free Aceh Movement (GAM) separatist rebels, officials and witnesses said.
The incidents took place in three different sites in West Aceh, Aceh Besar and East Aceh.
The latest took place in the village of Panton, Teunom district, West Aceh, some 150 kilometers from Banda Aceh. The casualties were Pvt. Arinto and Pvt. Saiful Anwar from the Army's special force (Kopassus).
Their patrol group was intercepted by GAM rebels. A GAM member, M. Yunus, also died in the ensuing gunfight, Army Spokesman Maj. Zainal Mutaqin said.
Also in West Aceh, in the village of Blang Luah in Woyla district, security forces shot dead a GAM member, Nur Abidin, on Tuesday for resisting arrest, after officers caught him extorting money from locals.
On Wednesday, in the village of Panca, Seulimum district, Aceh Besar -- about 50 kilometers north of Banda Aceh -- the military raided a GAM base, killing two rebels. The victims, identified as Arman and Anton, were carrying revolvers, which along with ammunition were seized as evidence.
Chief of Simpang Mulieng Military Subdistrict Lt. Sugianto was also shot dead in an armed skirmish in the village of Kuta Lawah, Idi district, in East Aceh on Tuesday.
He was traveling in a bus bound for Banda Aceh from Medan when a group of GAM rebels stopped the bus and searched it. He was shot dead by the rebels after his identity as a military man was discovered.