JAKARTA, Sept 9 (NNN-ANTARA) – The pilot and the co-pilot of a small plane of the Indonesian Navy were killed, after the plane went down into the water, off East Java province, Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Navy, Admiral Yudo Margono, said yesterday.
“Both of them (the pilot and the co-pilot) were dead,” the admiral told a press conference.
The plane, a G-36 Bonanza T-2503, crashed in the Madura Strait of the province, during an air defence exercise, according to the navy.
Margono said that, the bodies of the pilot and the co-pilot still remained inside the plane, when the wreckage of the aircraft was found.
“Both of them still sat on the chairs of the plane. The wreckage was already lifted this (yesterday) morning, from the seafloor,” said Margono.
The Indonesian navy deployed ships, helicopters and divers in a search operation, to find the wreckage and the two personnel, but strong currents occurring on the scene hampered the mission, according to the admiral.– NNN-ANTARA
