Military aircraft crashes, kills 1 in Indonesia

An Indonesian air force jet crashed into a sugar cane plantation soon after takeoff on Monday, killing one of two people on board, a military spokesman and witnesses said. The second pilot in the OV-10 Bronco counterinsurgency aircraft managed to eject from the plane before it crashed and was unhurt, said Rear Marshal Daryatmo.

The plane was on a routine training flight when it came down close to the Abdul Rahman Saleh airforce base in East Java province, said Daryatmo, who goes by a single name.

The cause of the crash was being investigated, he said. "I heard an explosion before seeing one person jump out using a parachute," said witness Gimin, who gave a single name. "The plane then exploded again twice before falling to the ground." Malang is 850 kilometers (528 miles) east of the capital, Jakarta.

First Published: Jul 23, 2007 12:01 IST