MEDAN, Indonesia, (Reuters) – More than 100 people were feared dead after a military transport plane ploughed into a residential area shortly after take-off in northern Indonesia yesterday, in what may be the deadliest accident yet for an air force with a long history of crashes.
“For the moment we know there were 113 people (on board). It looks like there are no survivors,” Air Marshal Agus Supriatna told Metro TV in the Sumatra city of Medan, adding that some of the passengers were air force families.
The crash of the aircraft, a C-130B Hercules aircraft that went into service half a century ago, is bound to put a fresh spotlight on Indonesia’s woeful air safety record and its ageing planes.
