In News: Indonesian Air Chief Expects no Survivors from Crash

Air Marshall Agus Supriatna is now suspected to have taken in paid passengers indicating lax controls.

Rescuers search for victims at the crash site where an Indonesian air force transport plane crashed. (Photo: AP)

Indonesia’s air force chief, Air Marshal Agus Supriatna, says he expects no survivors from the plane that crashed on Tuesday.

Investigators inspect the wreckage of the crashed air force transport plane in Medan in Indonesia. (Photo: AP)

The air force initially said there were 12 crew members on the plane. But the figures for the people on board have been repeatedly raised since then, indicating lax controls and raising questions about whether the plane was accepting paying passengers despite previous promises to crack down on the practice. 

Rescuers search for victims at the crash site. (Photo: AP)

Hitching rides on military planes to reach remote destinations is common in Indonesia, a sprawling archipelago that spans three time zone.

The Hercules C-130 plane crashed into a residential neighborhood in the country’s third-largest city on June 30. (Photo: AP)

Witnesses said flames and smoke streamed from the plane before it crashed. 

An investigator walks past the wreckage of the crashed air force transport plane in Medan in Indonesia. (Photo: AP)

Supriatna has said the pilot told the control tower that he needed to turn back because of engine trouble and that the plane crashed while turning right to return to the airport.

(With inputs from AP)