PHOTO CREDIT: Indonesian Air Force
Four people including two pilots died when two Indonesian military aircraft crashed into a mountainside during a training exercise.
Two light attack aircraft, each carrying a pilot and a co-pilot, crashed in the East Java town of Pasuruan just before noon on Thursday, according to Jakarta Globe.
Residents living on the slope of Mt. Bromo in Pasuruan, East Java, reported witnessing flaming aircraft wreckage after hearing explosions.
A statement from the Indonesian Air Force identified the aircraft involved in the incident as two EMB-314 Super Tucanos bearing tail numbers TT-3111 and TT-3103.
The two planes departed from the Abdulrachman Saleh Air Base in Malang, East Java, for a training mission alongside two similar aircraft at 10:50 a.m. local time (3:50 GMT), the statement read.
At 11:18, air control lost contact with the two aircraft, while the remaining two Tucanos safely returned to the base at 11:31.
Before the incident occurred, the four planes were reported to have flown in a “box formation” and reached an altitude of 8,000 feet.
The individuals onboard the ill-fated aircraft were identified as Lie. Col. Sandhra Gunawan (TT-3111, front seater), Col. Widiono (TT-3111, back seater), Major Yuda A. Seta (TT-3103, front seater), and Col. Subhan (TT-3103, back seater).
An air force spokesperson, Agung Sasongko Jati told AFP, that "All the bodies have been found.
“Two are already in the hangar, two are still in transportation to the base.”
He said the two pilots and two co-pilots were found after information from the public about where their planes had crashed.
They were found on a mountainside near Mount Bromo in East Java, on Indonesia’s most populous island, and the planes were believed to have hit a steep incline, Jati said.
Investigators are not likely to reach the site before Friday when they will analyse the flight recorders and other data from the planes.
“The crash investigation personnel will come and know exactly what happened. They will have the voice communication, flight data, and the engine data and video,” Jati said.