Fighter jet crash at air show kills 2 Indonesian pilots

By Ainur Rohmah

JAKARTA

Two pilots were killed Sunday after a fighter jet crashed during an air show in the Indonesian city of Yogyakarta.

Air Marshal Dwi Badarmanto, head of the air force’s flight department, said the T-50i Golden Eagle flown by Lt. Col. Marda Sarjono and Major Dwi Cahyono crashed into rice fields

"The T50 was performing in the ‘Gebyar Dirgantara’ event, but then it crashed and fell," Kompas TV quoted him as saying. "The two pilots are dead."

Badarmanto also told Detik.com that the jet had frequently been used for air shows, adding that he did not know what had caused the accident.

Wirajuda, a witness who like many Indonesians uses only one name, told Kompas.com that the plane had dipped toward the ground after conducting a circular aerobatic maneuver.

"After the [jet] conducted the loop maneuver, it dove but didn't rise again," he said, expressing sadness at how the accident had made the atmosphere of the first air show held in Yogyakarta somber.

An investigation into the reason behind the accident remains ongoing.