All Hawk-100s grounded

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Air Force (TNI AU) decided on Friday to ground all of its British-made Hawk-100 fighters, after one of the aircraft crashed on Thursday killing two pilots.

Attending a ceremony marking the arrival of the bodies of the two pilots at Halim Perdanakusuma airport, East Jakarta, Air Force Chief of Staff Marshall Hanafie Asnan said that all of the remaining Hawk-100 aircraft would be grounded, pending an investigation into the accident.

Hanafie said that the investigation team would include doctors and psychologists.

Thursday's crash resulted in the deaths of the Elang Khatulistiwa Squadron I Commander Lt. Col. Teddy Kustari, 41, and First Lt. Doni Kristian, 25.

The fighter, one of 24 Hawk fighters ordered from Britain in 1992 and which began arriving in Indonesia in 1996, went down short of the runway at Supadio air force base in Pontianak, West Kalimantan.

Another Hawk-100 crashed in Pekanbaru, Riau, in March.

Hanafie, however, said that the air force's 15 Hawk-200s would continue to fly despite a crash in Pekanbaru on Oct. 4.

Air force spokesman, Bachrum Rasir, was quoted by the afternoon daily Suara Pembaruan here as saying that none of the Hawk-100s had been insured.

Thursday's ill-fated Hawk was part of a squadron consisting of eight jet fighters based in Pontianak. (09)