2 dead in Indonesian air show crash

Indonesian airmen stand near the wreckage of a crashed Swiss-made AS 202 Bravo in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia, Saturday. AP

BANDUNG, Indonesia — A light aircraft burst into flames after crashing into a building during an air show in Indonesia on Saturday, killing both its pilots, the transport ministry said.

A thick plume of smoke rose from the crash site in Bandung in western Java, where the air show was held to commemorate the city’s 202nd anniversary.

“A Cessna 202 plane lost altitude during a manoeuvre and crashed into a building at 11:37 a.m. (0437 GMT) with two pilots on board, who were both killed instantly,” transport ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan told Agence France-Presse.

There were no other reports of casualties, and the building hit had been sealed for the show.

The single-engine plane was owned by the Indonesian Aero Sports Federation, which uses former military aircraft.

Another Cessna plane crashed at the same airshow in 2010 during a low-altitude maneuver, killing the pilot.

Indonesia has a poor aviation safety record and is in the process of updating its ageing military aircraft and equipment, procuring Russian and American warplanes, boats for its navy and parts for its transport planes.

A New Zealand pilot and two Indonesians were killed in March when a helicopter chartered by the local arm of US mining company Freeport-McMoRan crashed in the remote Papua province.