Trainer Plane Crashes into Villa Pamulang Housing Complex
Monday, 17 March, 2008 | 15:28 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: A Pelican brand trainer plane from the Aero-Sport Indonesia Federation (FASI) crashed into the Villa Pamulang housing complex in Tangerang, Banten, yesterday (16/3) morning.

The pilot, Herudi Kartowisastro, 61 years old, died at the location.

The body of Herudi was transported to the Fatmawati Hospital in South Jakarta, before taken to his house in the Respiptek housing complex, Serpong, Tangerang.

Heru, who was a well-known Indonesian aerosport figure, was then buried at the Giritama Cemetery in Tonjong, Parung, Bogor.

As observed by Tempo, the white plane piloted by Heru was in bad shape and crashed into four houses in Pamulang, scattering wreckage over the roofs of the houses.
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Ruins of plane's body were scatter around on the houses' roofs No. 7, 8, 9, and 10.

The plane crashed at 07.20 a.m.

According to Sahudoro, Herudi's cousin, Herudi left to fly the plane at 06.00 am, and set off from the Pondok Cabe airfield, Tangerang.

Herudi flew around and planned to return to Pondok Cabe.

Herudi, a graduate of the Bandung Institute of Technology, worked as expert at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI), was testing the plane that had been broken down last Friday.

“Yesterday, he flew to test the engine after it has been repaired,” said Sahudoro.

Before it crashed, Herudi tried to make an emergency landing, at a nearby lake but this failed.

According to Nurohman Pujo Basuki, a member of FASI, the plane crashed a few minutes after it took off from Pondok Cabe.

“It is too early to say what the cause of accident was,” said Pujo.

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