The statement was made by President Yudhoyono in Rio de Janeiro after expressing his condolences to the victims who died when the plane crashed into eight residential houses near the Halim Perdakankusumah airbase, Jakarta, on Thursday, June 21.
"This is actually the domain for the Air Force, but as head of state, the Fokker 27 should not be flown for a short period of time, because we already have plans to modernize the aircraft with N295, and we are also cooperating with other countries to buy C130s," he said.
The president`s decision to temporarily ground the Fokker 27 aircraft is hoped to address the public`s concerns following a number of aviation accidents.
Yudhoyono also expressed his condolences to the families of the seven crew members of the F27 and four civilians who died in the crash.
"I convey my condolences for the crash victims, all of the seven airmen and four civilians," he said, adding that the interim reports of the ongoing investigation indicated the plane was experiencing a mechanical problem, causing the pilot`s to be unable to land the aircraft.
As reported, the Fokker 27 aircraft, owned by the Indonesian Air Force, crashed in a residential area in the Rajawali housing complex, Halim Perdana Kusuma, East Jakarta, Thursday (21/6) at around 14:44 pm, killing 11 people.
The fatalities included seven members of the Air Squadron 2 Platform Halim Perdana Kusuma Air Force, Major Pilot Heri Setiawan (instructor), First Flight Lieutenant Paulus Adi, Second flight lieutenant Syahroni, Techniques Captain Agus Sergeant Major Simulato, Chief Sergeant Purwo and First Sergeant Wahyudi.
The accident also killed four civilians who were in their homes when the plane crashed. (*)
Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
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