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red Hughes 300C training helicopter, owned by the Army Flight Training Center, crashed onto the Charlie taxiway at the Ahmad Yani Army Airbase in Semarang, Central Java, at around 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

The chopper was severely damaged, but no explosion was reported. A student pilot and a flight instructor were injured in the crash and they were immediately rushed to the nearby Army hospital.

The incident did not disrupt commercial flights at the airbase, which also serves as a commercial airport.

Security section chief at the airbase, Maj. Tony Safrudin, said his office was still investigating the cause of the accident.

'€œThe helicopter crashed as it was on its way to pick up other students for training. It was flying low over the taxiway, but it suddenly crashed,'€ said Tony. Initial thinking is that the chopper fell because it lost power while flying at low altitude. A thorough investigation would be conducted to determine the actual cause of the mishap, he added.

The flight was part of a training session for trainee pilots. The chopper left the airport at 8 a.m. and returned to the airbase around 30 minutes later to pick up another student.