Fighter jet skids off runway

Fighter jet skids off runway

An Indonesian Air Force jet fighter skidded off a runway in the South Sulawesi capital of Makassar on Monday after an aborted takeoff, Air Force officials said.

Two crew aboard the Skyhawk escaped injury after the parachute brake either failed or was not deployed quickly enough after the pilot aborted a takeoff due to instrument failure, First Marshall Eddy Harjoko was quoted by Antara as saying.

Speaking in Jakarta, Eddy said the pilot, Capt. Endik and his flying student First Lt. David Ali, noticed the speed indicator was not working and canceled the takeoff at the Hasanuddin Air Force Base in Makassar.

"So, the pilot ... tried to land using the wheel brake supported with the parachute break from the back side of the plane," Eddy said.

The attempt failed and the plane skidded off the runway. It suffered only minor damage.

Hasanuddin Air Force Base operations head Lt. Col. Bagus Puruito said the parachute may have been deployed late.

A joint team would investigate the accident, he said. "Probably tomorrow (Tuesday) morning, the joint team will already be there (Makassar) for investigation."

Eddy admitted that the jet "was not in its best condition", saying that only four or five planes out of 17 Skyhawks owned by the Air Force were serviceable.

The Indonesian Military's (TNI) equipment has suffered from a lack of spare parts after the United States cut off all military sales to the country's military forces in 1999.

The sales suspension followed the alleged involvement of TNI in atrocities committed in East Timor after it broke away from Indonesia on Aug. 30, 1999.

Eddy further said the ill-fated Skyhawk TL-0419 would be repaired for future use.

"We can assure you that the plane's structure is still very strong," he added. --Antara