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US military aircraft makes emergency landing in Aceh
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Emergency landing: An American military aircraft makes an emergency landing at Sultan Iskandar Muda Airport in Aceh on Friday due to engine failure. (Tempo/Suryo Wibowo)
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US military aircraft carrying 20 crew members made an emergency landing at Sultan Iskandar Muda Airport in Aceh on Friday. Some of the American military personnel were reportedly prohibited from leaving the aircraft because they did not have passports with them.
“There were 20 crew members on board the aircraft. Some of them are not carrying their passports,” Indonesian Air Force spokesperson Air Commander Jemi Trisonjaya said as quoted by tempo.co on Saturday.
He further explained that the eight US crew members who did not have passports had to wait for coordination between local immigration authorities and representatives of the US Embassy in Indonesia.
Crewmen who brought passports were allowed to disembark and even permitted to stay at a nearby hotel under the watch of local security authorities.
“Those who have no passports are not permitted to leave the airport. They are being guarded by the Air Force’s security personnel,” said Jemi.
The US aircraft reportedly touched down on the airport’s runway at 1:30 p.m. local time on Friday because of engine failure. The plane was on its way to Kadena Air Force Base in Japan from Diego Garcia, Chagos Islands, in the Indian Ocean, when the incident occurred.
“It flew at 25,000 feet above the sea level when a failure in one of its engines was detected,” said Jemi.
It was the radar at the 3rd National Air Defense Sector Command (Kosekhanudnas) in Medan, North Sumatra, that detected the presence of the US military aircraft in Indonesian airspace.
“The Kosekhanudnas commander later informed the commander of the Sultan Iskandar Muda Air Force Base,” said Jemi.
The aircraft, with “United States Air Force” written on its body, is still parked on the apron of the Sultan Iskandar Muda Airport. “It is still waiting for repairs from the US authorities,” said Jemi. (ebf)
