LANGKAWI, March 16 – Two Jupiter Aerobatic Team aircraft belonging to the Indonesian Air Force (AU-TNI) crashed during a practice session conjunction with the 2015 Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA ’15) exhibition at the Mahsuri International Exhibition Centre(MIEC) here, Sunday.
A spokesman for the Langkawi Fire and Rescue Department said the accident occurred at 2.04 pm when six KT-1B aircraft were crossing the MIEC air space before two of them collided in the air.
The two aircraft were then seen crashing outside the airport area, followed by fire and smoke.
However, the fate of the two pilots is still unknown.
A witness, Husin Ahmad, 25, said one pilot managed to save himself by ejecting from his aircraft and activating his parachute.
“I was having lunch, when suddenly saw the two planes colliding at the tail end, emitting smoke, before they crashed.
“One of the pilots managed to bail out with a parachute,” he said.
Another witness, Zairi Halim, 35, said he was having lunch at home when his son came running to inform that there was an aircraft mishap a short distance away.
Another witness told BERNAMA that one of the ill-fated jets which crashed in Kedawang set a house there ablaze.
Firemen quickly doused the flames.
The Indonesian aerobatic team is one of five teams that are scheduled to put on airshows at LIMA’15 which will be held from March 17-21.
-BERNAMA
