"All Superhawk 200 jets will be grounded until we find out the cause of the crash. This is an anticipatory measure, since we do not want this to happen again," he said at the State Palace here on Tuesday.
Sufaat added that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Committee of the Indonesian Air Force was still investigating the cause of the crash.
"We cannot estimate how long this investigation will take, since there are many things that need to be investigated. However, I believe this was not caused by human error," he stated.
"There might be something wrong with the jet`s engine because the aviator will not eject himself out of the jet without any reason. I think he faced some engine trouble, so he decided to get out of the aircraft," Sufaat noted.
He said the Indonesian Air Force had two squadrons of Superhawk 200, with as many as 32 aircraft.
"Many of those jets were purchased in 1994," Safaat added.
The Superhawk 200 was made in the UK in 1980. It was reportedly the single-seat ground-attack version that crashed.
"The jet crash happened during the preparatory training for `Angkasa Yudha`," Safaat stated.
"In fact, the Air Force planned to conduct war simulation on October 23 in Tanjung Pandan, Belitung, by deploying all types of fighter aircraft, such as F16 and Sukhoi, as well as Superhawk 200," he explained.
"However, now, we will not use the Hawk until we find out the cause of the crash," Safaat added. (Y012/INE/BSR/A014)
Editor: Kunto Wibisono
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