Aviation Forum / Country Specific / Australian Group / May 2009

"...............an Indonesian military plane crashed into a
village in East Java early today, the second fatal air accident
in just over a month.

The C130 Hercules, carrying 110 passengers and crew, ploughed
into several homes and caught fire, scattering debris through
rice paddies and sending flames and black smoke billowing into
the air.

At least three people on the ground were killed as the plane
plummeted into their village.

Local television images showed the plane engulfed in flames, its
wreckage scattered in rice paddies in Magetan, about 100 miles
(160 km) east of Yogyakarta."

"It is the second fatal air accident in Indonesia since April and
the second involving a Hercules plane in two weeks. A Hercules
overshot the runway of Wamena airport in Papua on May 10,
injuring one person on board. In April a Fokker 27 training
aircraft crashed into an airport hangar, killing 24 people on
board." Times Online

"Some witnesses told local media the explosions caused the plane
to break up in the air, with one person telling Kompas.com that a
wing fell off before it hit the ground.

Indonesia’s Hercules fleet was crippled by a US arms embargo
imposed in 1999 after the violence surrounding East Timor’s
independence referendum. It was partially lifted in 2005,
including for Hercules spare parts in May 2005.

When the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami struck in December 2004
only six of the 24-strong fleet were fully airworthy. Several
have been repaired since then" Fin. Times

Photo here - http://tinyurl.com/pjzpkd