Two people were injured after a passenger plane crash landed on an Indonesian airport runway Monday in the latest accident to hit the country’s rapidly growing aviation industry.
The MA-60 aircraft, operated by state-owned Merpati Nusantara airlines, crashed after it attempted to land at El Tari airport in Kupang city, according to transport ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan.
The plane was on a domestic flight with 52 people on board, including six crew, from the central island of Flores and came to land in the East Nusa province Monday morning. Two passengers sustained minor injuries from pieces of glass after the plane’s window shattered on impact, reports AFP.
The plane was badly damaged in the accident, Merpati spokesman Herry Saptanto said.
Authorities have previously banned the plane – a turbo-prop plane manufactured by Chinese firm Xi’an aircraft Industrial Corporation – from landing at three airports, excluding El Tari, following a crash in 2011 which killed 25 people.
Indonesia’s aviation sector has grown over the years amid growing demand from a booming middle class, but plane accidents has plagued the country.
