JAKARTA • Two pilots were killed yesterday when an Indonesian military plane crashed in Central Java, local media reported.
Video circulating on social media showed a fighter plane performing manoeuvres in the skies above Yogyakarta before spiralling towards the ground at speed and disappearing from view.
Seconds later, a thick dark plume of smoke rose beyond the horizon, as people in the video could be heard screaming.
The crash occurred while the trainer jet was performing an aerobatic manoeuvre at an air show in Yogyakarta, the Jakarta Globe said on its online site.
The South Korean-made T-50 Golden Eagle jet crashed near the air force's flight academy base near the Adisutjipto International Airport in Yogyakarta, the Globe quoted air force chief of staff Agus Supriatna as saying.
The T-50 is a light fighter jet that bridges the F-16 and Sukhoi fighters used by the Indonesian air force, the Detil news website said yesterday.
The two pilots were named in Indonesian news sites as Lieutenant-Colonel Marda Sarjono and Captain Dwi Cahyadi.
A major military air show had been under way over the weekend in Yogyakarta.
In June, a Hercules C-130 crashed in a residential neighbourhood in Medan, the largest city on Sumatra island, killing 142 people and causing widespread destruction.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
