Light plane crashes into plantation

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sun, 05/13/2007 7:40 AM

INDONESIA: A light plane owned by state plantation company PT Perkebunan Nusantara II crashed into a plantation area in the district of Hamparan Perak in Deli Serdang, North Sumatra, on Saturday.

No casualties were reported, though the pilot, identified as Irwin Aristo, 37, received minor injuries as the result of shrapnel from the plane's front glass window. No other passengers were aboard the aircraft at the time.

The Paper Pawne 235 aircraft, assembled in the United States in 1987, was being used to spray water over the firm's tobacco fields. It crashed at 9:30 a.m. just after take off.

Irwin was immediately rushed to Tembakau Deli Hospital in Medan for medical treatment.

Sulaiman, who witnessed the incident, said the plane was flying at a very low altitude when its right wing smashed suddenly into a nearby bamboo cluster.

""Soon after hitting the bamboo cluster, the plane crashed to the ground,"" Sulaiman said. -- JP

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