Investigators comb plane wreckage after fatal blaze

Investigators picked through the charred debris of a Boeing 737-400 that burst into flames after careering off a runway in Indonesia, as forensic experts struggled to identify the 21 people killed, many burned beyond recognition.

About 117 dazed and bloodied survivors staggered from the jet after it broke through a fence and came to rest in a rice field early yesterday. Most escaped without major injuries, although several suffered burns and broken bones.

Those killed were trapped in the wreckage of the Garuda Airlines plane after it caught fire, sending billowing clouds of black smoke and orange flames high into the air. The plane had been carrying 140 passengers and crew, officials said.

The accident at Yogyakarta international airport on Java island was the third plane crash in as many months in Indonesia, raising urgent questions about the safety of the country’s booming airline sector.

Two people were missing and five Australians were feared to be among the dead.

Australian and Indonesian crash investigators examined the blackened fuselage and other parts of the plane scattered over a brilliant green rice paddy at the end of the runway today, taking photos and notes as they worked.

“We are working hard to investigate the crash. We cannot even make a preliminary conclusion yet, but it is clear there are no indications of sabotage or intentional explosions in this crash as yet,” Joseph Tumenggung, the head of the investigation team, said.

Alexandra Bertellotti, a journalist with Italian broadcaster RAI, said the plane was going at a “crazy speed” as it approached Yogyakarta airport after a 50-minute flight from the capital, Jakarta.

“It was going into a dive and I was certain we would crash on the ground,” he told Italian news agency ANSA. “I was sitting behind the wing. I saw that the pilot was trying to stop it, but it was too fast. It literally bounced on the strip.”

Wayan Sukarda, an Indonesian cameraman for Australia’s Seven Network, managed to scramble off the plane and shoot dramatic video of dazed passengers fleeing as smoke poured from the fuselage.

An explosion and fireball ripped through the air, apparently as the fire reached a fuel tank, the footage showed.

Australian police body-identification experts were being sent to help Indonesian officials working in the morgue of the city’s Sarjito Hospital, where family members waited for news of loved ones.

The bodies of seven victims have been collected by family members, but the rest remain unidentified, said police forensic doctor Syahrizal, who goes by a single name.

“Their faces no longer have any shape,” he said. “We are waiting for family members to arrive and let us know of if they recognise any unique features on their bodies. Failing that, we will have to use dental records or DNA.”

The Indonesian government ordered an investigation into the crash, the latest in a series of accidents in the country.

On New Year’s Day, a jet plummeted into the sea, killing all 102 people on board. Weeks later, a plane broke apart on landing. There were no casualties. There have also been several ferry sinkings, one of which killed 400.

In response, the government has said it would ban commercial airlines from operating planes more than 10 years old, but most experts say maintenance must be improved and the number of flights per day limited.

Some have also called for transportation minister Hatta Radjasa to resign.

“He should not be allowed to wash his hands of this,” said Burhanuddin Napitulu, a senior MP from Indonesia’s ruling party. “The public has lost all trust. They are too scared to take planes, trains or ferries any more because the disasters are never-ending.”

Dozens of airlines have emerged since Indonesia started deregulating the industry in the late 1990s and the rapid expansion has raised concerns that growth has outpaced the supply of trained aviation professionals, regulatory oversight, parts and ground infrastructure.

Although Garuda has had nine plane crashes in the past 30 years, killing 330, the airline has made strides recently on improving its safety regulations and training pilots, experts said.

The US National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending a team to help the Indonesian government investigate the crash.