(Reuters) — An Indonesian military aircraft crashed into a house in a densely populated area in Malang on Wednesday (February 10), leaving two civilians and a pilot dead and one technician missing, local media reported.
The Brazilian-made aircraft Super Tucano took off from Abdurrahman Saleh military base in East Java province, five kilometres away from the crash site, for a flight simulation training exercise, according to local media.
“I felt a tremble and people started to run. At that time, I saw a woman lying near a well. Her body was all covered but I didn’t know whether she was dead or alive,” said Yenny, a local resident who was nearby when the crash happened.
“As far as I know, there’s only one death. But, a friend of mine said two people have died because of this incident,” said Yenny.
The woman described, local media said, was immediately taken to hospital in an ambulance.
Indonesia’s military has experienced two recent air accidents involving their military aircraft.
In 2015, an Indonesian military transport plane carrying more than 100 people crashed and burst into flames in East Java province of Indonesia. In the same year, two pilots were killed when their fighter jet crashed during an aerobatics performance in Central Java.
Indonesia has a poor record of air safety and maintenance and has suffered a string of accidents in recent years affecting both commercial and military aircraft.
