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.