Pilot rapped for landing at wrong Indonesian airport

JAKARTA (AFP) - A foreign pilot has been suspended from flying after landing an Indonesian passenger jet at the wrong airport in a "serious" breach of safety, a transport ministry spokesman said on Monday.

The Sriwijaya Air plane, carrying 96 passengers and six crew, was meant to land at Minangkabau International airport in the city of Padang, but instead descended to the Tabing air force base some 12 kilometres away.

"This incident was very serious and very dangerous for passenger safety as (the plane) landed at a wrong airport," ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan said. He added that a probe by the aviation safety watchdog is underway.

The foreign pilot of the jet, which left Medan in North Sumatra province for the short flight to Padang on Saturday, has been suspended from duty, he added, without revealing the pilot's nationality.