Litany of accidents: An aircraft hangar at Bandung’s Husein Sastranegara Air Force Base is seen with damage to its roof, after being hit Monday by a Fokker airplane that went on to crash into the tarmac amid heavy rain, killing all 24 Air Force personnel on board. JP/Yuli Tri Suwarni

The Air Force has blamed bad weather as the likely cause of Monday's deadly plane crash into a hangar when trying to land at an air base in Bandung during heavy rain.

The Fokker F-27 medium transport plane with tail number A-2703 had just returned from

a parachuting training session when the accident took place at about 1 p.m. at Husein Sastranegara Air Force Base.

The plane's six crew and 18 soldiers from the Air Force's Special Forces (Paskhas) were killed in the accident.

Monday's crash occurred just days before the Air Force celebrates its 63rd anniversary on Thursday.

Air Force Chief of Staff Marshal Subandrio said bad weather was the likely cause of the accident, with weather conditions at the time recorded as “TS RA”, or thunder, storm and rain.

Twenty-knot crosswinds were also recorded blowing from north to south when the airplane was trying to land coming from east to west.

Horizontal visibility from the tower was only 2 kilometers, with cumulus nimbus cloud formations hanging at an elevation of 1,500 meters.

“Complying with procedures, as the pilot could not see the runway, he was requesting a go-round,” Subandrio said at a press conference at the Air Force base.

“Tower officials did not see the airplane either when suddenly they saw smoke in the hangar.

“So the preliminary conclusion is [the accident occurred] because of bad weather.”

The plane, from the 2nd squadron based at Halim Perdanakusumah Air Force Base in Jakarta, crashed into the aircraft service hangar of state-owned aircraft maker PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PT DI).

The base compound is shared with PT DI and a civilian airport.

The plane exploded into a giant fireball upon impact, leaving rescue workers with the difficult task of identifying the victims. One rescue worker said they could only find body parts scattered around the accident site.

There were five planes being serviced at the time in the hangar. A Deraya Air Service NC-212-200 suffered a smashed wing, while a Batavia Air Boeing 737-300 suffered minor damage.

Three other aircraft — an Adam Air Boeing 737-300, a CN-235 to be delivered to France and a Robinson light helicopter — were not damaged.

The Air Force has set up an internal investigation team without the involvement of the National Transportation Safety Committee (KNKT).

Subandrio stressed that the F-27, built in 1976, had been certified airworthy and in good condition.

“The crew would not have flown the plane had it been not airworthy,” he said.

Prior to the accident, the Air Force operated seven F-27s.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has ordered Indonesian Military (TNI) chief Gen. Djoko Santoso to conduct a “thorough investigation” into the incident.

Presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng said Yudhoyono had also ordered the military chief to check the airworthiness of all the Air Force’s aircraft.

“The military chief reported the incident to the President shortly after it occurred” Andi said in a press statement.

“An interim report says it was caused by the weather factor.

“President Yudhoyono expresses his deepest condolences to the families of Air Force officers and members who died in the accident,” he added.

The plane was manned by pilot Capt. I Gede Agustirta Santosa and co-pilot First Lt. Yudo Pramono. Subandrio confirmed Yudo was the son of Iskandar Muda Military Commander Maj. Gen. Soenarko.

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