1991 Jakarta Indonesian Air Force C-130 crash explained

1991 Indonesian Air Force Lockheed C-130 Hercules crash
Image Upright:1.15
Occurrence Type:Accident
Date:5 October 1991
Type:Engine fire on takeoff
Site:Near Jakarta-Halim Perdana Kusuma Airport
Total Fatalities:135 (2 on the ground)
Ground Fatalities:2
Aircraft Type:Lockheed C-130H-30 Hercules
Tail Number:A-1324
Origin:Jakarta-Halim Perdana Kusuma Airport
Destination:Husein Sastranegara International Airport
Occupants:134
Passengers:122
Crew:12
Fatalities:133
Survivors:1 (Initially 2)

On 5 October 1991, an Indonesian Air Force Lockheed C-130H-30 Hercules crashed shortly after takeoff from Jakarta-Halim Perdana Kusuma Airport due to an engine fire.[1] It killed all but 1 of the 134 people onboard with an additional 2 people on the ground.

Sequence of events

A-1324 (serial number - 4927, model L-82), was delivered from the 32nd Transport Squadron in June 1982.[2] The military flight was from Jakarta to Bandung,[3] and mainly consisted of Paskhas, (also called Orange Berets), returning to base after participating in an Indonesian Armed Forces Day ceremony.[4]

The aircraft had a crew of 12 and 122 airman passengers. The aircraft departed at 15:00 local time when, according to eyewitnesses on the ground, one of the engines caught on fire. The fire presumably damaged the wing mechanism, causing the left engine to fail. The aircraft lost control, crashed into the Training Center of the Ministry of Labor, and exploded. Rescue operations were hampered by heavy rain which began an hour after the crash. One of the pilots, Major Samsul Ilham, was found in the wreckage alive but seriously injured. He later died in the hospital the same day.

A man survived the crash. Two people on the ground were also killed. With 135 fatalities, the crash was the deadliest aviation disaster to occur in Indonesia until the crash of Garuda Indonesia Flight 152 in 1997. It is now the sixth-deadliest.[3] [5]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: ASN Aircraft accident Lockheed C-130H-30 Hercules A-1324 Jakarta-Halim Perdana Kusuma Airport (HLP). Ranter. Harro. 18 January 2017.
  2. Web site: PAF C130 ACFT MISSING. en. 2013-11-30.
  3. Web site: INDONESIAN MILITARY PLANE CRASHES IN JAKARTA, 132 KILLED. 1991-10-05. Associated Press. https://web.archive.org/web/20200404224211/https://apnews.com/0893bfd4b13c6d57f8ac71e708d4c945. en. 2013-11-30. 2020-04-04. live.
  4. Web site: C-130 Hercules. id. 2013-11-30.
  5. Web site: Military Plane Crash in Indonesia Leaves 133 Dead. 1991-10-06. Los Angeles Times. en. 2013-11-30.