Brake malfunction causes Indonesian Air Force Sukhoi to overshoot runway at Hasanuddin
Head of the Indonesian Air Force Information Service (Kadispenau) Air Vice Marshal TNI I Nyoman Suadnyana has confirmed that all crew members of a Sukhoi Su-30MK2 fighter jet are safe after the aircraft overshot the runway at Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport in Maros Regency, South Sulawesi.
“The aircraft and all crew are in a safe condition. The aircraft has subsequently been towed to the maintenance hangar for inspection and prepared for the next test,” Suadnyana said in a statement received in Makassar on Monday.
He explained that the incident occurred during a test flight sequence for the Sukhoi Su-30MK2 fighter jet following the completion of a heavy maintenance overhaul.
As part of the test flight sequence, the aircraft underwent an inspection stage involving a simulated take-off on the runway.
According to Suadnyana, during the simulated take-off and braking, a technical fault occurred in the braking system, preventing it from functioning optimally.
“A technical fault occurred in the braking system, which did not function optimally, resulting in the aircraft overshooting the end of the runway by 30 metres,” he said.
The aircraft was then towed to the maintenance hangar to undergo inspection before proceeding to the next stage of testing.
The incident occurred at around 11.00 WITA on the western runway, or runway 13, of Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport.
Meanwhile, Acting Branch Communication and CSR Department Head of Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport Taufan Yudhistira confirmed the incident.
“Based on a viral video on social media, we can confirm that the incident did occur on the western runway (runway 13) at Sultan Hasanuddin Airport,” Taufan said.
He said the airport authority, together with the Indonesian Air Force, handled the incident.
According to Taufan, the fighter jet had previously used runway 03-21 for its flights.
Despite the incident, airport and flight operations at Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport continued to run smoothly.