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Medan crash: Ageing plane had propeller ‘abnormality’

MEDAN — The ageing Indonesian military transport plane that crashed into a residential neighbourhood of Medan and killed 141 people had a propeller “abnormality” that indicates an engine had stalled, the Air Force chief said yesterday.

Rescuers search for victims at the site where an Indonesian air force transport plane crashed in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Wednesday, July 1, 2015. Photo: AP

Rescuers search for victims at the site where an Indonesian air force transport plane crashed in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia, Wednesday, July 1, 2015. Photo: AP

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MEDAN — The ageing Indonesian military transport plane that crashed into a residential neighbourhood of Medan and killed 141 people had a propeller “abnormality” that indicates an engine had stalled, the Air Force chief said yesterday.

Air Marshal Agus Supriatna told reporters the fact that the plane turned rightward after take-off and was flying at a lower than normal speed also suggests engine failure.

Shortly after take-off on Tuesday and before it crashed two minutes later, the C-130 Hercules hit a 100m radio antenna, Mr Supriatna said. “By hitting the antenna, I imagine it certainly affected the plane,” he said.

“Of the seven antennae located in lines at the tip of the airport’s runway, only two still remain there. The wrecks of antennae were found on the roofs of houses at the crash site. Such high antennae should not be allowed in areas near to the runway,” he was quoted as saying by Jakarta Post.

The search for bodies ended on Wednesday. The plane, which went into service in 1964, was carrying 122 people and the impact also killed 19 people on the ground.

The plane wreckage has been removed from the site and two nearby roads have been reopened, but the smell of jet fuel still lingers.

The Indonesian Air Force said it would compensate residents whose homes were destroyed in the crash. “An (Air Force) representative will go to each home or place of business; everything will be compensated,” Mr Supriatna said.

Air Force spokesman Dwi Badarmanto said it has grounded other B-type C-130 Hercules planes pending the investigation.

Mr Supriatna said that the early findings of the investigation suggest a propeller was “feathered” by the pilot, using a technical term to describe a high-angle position for the blades that reduces the tendency of the plane to swing in the direction of the failed engine.

“If there was feathering that means the engine was dead,” he said.

Indonesian military planes are not equipped with black box flight recorders, according to air force operations commander Agus Dwi Putranto.

In response to the disaster, President Joko Widodo has ordered a review of ageing Air Force planes and other military hardware.

Indonesia’s military spending is equal to 0.8 per cent of gross domestic product, according to the World Bank, about half that of Malaysia and Thailand.

Indonesia has a patchy civil aviation safety record and has suffered five other plane crashes in the past decade, with its last C-130 crash in 2009 when about 100 people were killed.

The Air Force had earlier denied that the C-130 that crashed was over capacity, claiming it could carry 12.5 tonnes.

The plane was also carrying many more passengers than the military first reported. Initially, the air force said there were 12 crew members on the 51-year-old plane and did not mention passengers. It then repeatedly raised the number of people on board, indicating confusion about how many people had boarded and alighted during a journey covering several cities. On the doomed leg of the flight, the plane was leaving Medan for the Natuna islands.

Relatives of some victims said they had paid for their flights, violating rules that restrict air force flights to military personnel and their families.

Mr Supriatna said if evidence is produced, stern action would be taken against anyone who facilitated civilians joining the flight. AGENCIES

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