Indonesian plane with three aboard missing

Jakarta - An Indonesian light plane owned by a flying school went missing on Java island Wednesday with three people on board, the transport ministry said.

The single-engine Cessna-172 owned by the Nusa Flying International school left a military airport in Jakarta at 7:40 am and lost contact at 8:53, ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan said.


"The plane was carrying two students and one flight instructor," he said, adding that a search-and-rescue team had been deployed to locate the plane.

"We cannot say whether it has crashed or made an emergency landing. The plane was flying over its destination city Cirebon when it lost contact with air traffic control," he said.

The plane was supposed to land at 9:33.

A small Casa 212 plane crashed late September on Sumatra island, killing all 18 people on board.

The sprawling Indonesian archipelago relies heavily on air transport and has a poor aviation record.


by Stephen Collinson
(c) 2011 AFP