Three army officers killed in Aceh military plane crash

The Jakarta Post, Banda Aceh/Surabaya/Medan

An Indonesian Air Force plane crash landed onto an Aceh airport on Thursday, killing three Army officers -- including one member of Indonesia's nobility -- and injuring 20 others.

The accident came five hours after another Indonesian Air Force plane reportedly went missing in Malang, East Java.

The three Army officers killed in the accident at 11 a.m were Lt. Col. Otteman Mahmud Perkasa Alam, Lt. Col. Tugas Suwignyo and Maj. Taufan. Otteman was Sultan Deli XIII of the Deli sultanate in Medan, who was serving the Army in North Aceh at the time of the accident.

Maj. Gen. Supiadin, the chief of Iskandar Muda military command, said he believed engine failure had caused the accident at 11 a.m. in Malikussaleh Airport, North Aceh.

"The plane's engines suddenly cut out as the plane was about to land on the airport tarmac. The plane crashed into the tarmac and its body broke into two parts," Supiadin said.

Officer Eri Sutiko, meanwhile, told AFP the plane had crashed after having problems with its landing gear.

The CN-235 plane, departing from Banda Aceh, was carrying 23 passengers, including six Army officers, eight Air Force and six Navy personnel. The remaining passengers were civilians.

The remains of the officers were flown to Medan by helicopter before burial in their home towns.

The other injured are being treated at a military hospital in Lhokseumawe, the capital of North Aceh regency.

Separately, an Air Force plane, an OV-10 Bronco with two people on board, reportedly vanished from radar screens shortly after taking off from the Abdurrahman Saleh air base in Malang. The aircraft, which was on a training flight, is believed to have gone missing in the Jabung area.

Late on Thursday night, a search and rescue team had been unable to locate the plane.

Base chief First Marshal Yusan Sayuti said the airplane, piloted by Maj. Robi, took off from the runway at 5.10 a.m. The name of the passenger has not been released.

"The plane is believed to have gone down in Wajo subdistrict in Jabung area," said Yusan quoted by Antara.

Air Force officials had dispatched a small plane and a helicopter to locate the aircraft, he said.

Before the latest incidents, the last military air accident occurred on Dec. 23 last year, when a military helicopter crashed and burst into flames in mountains in Wonosobo regency, Central Java, killing all 14 Air Force officers on board.

Police and military officials blamed bad weather for causing the deadly accident, involving the locally assembled Super Puma helicopter.