Two aeroplanes collide at Jakarta airport

Two planes collided at an airport in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta, resulting in a wing

bursting into flames.

A Batik Air passenger plane was taking off when its wing clipped the tail of a TransNusa

aircraft being towed across the runway.

Authorities said there were no injuries in the Monday night incident, and all passengers

were evacuated safely.

Indonesia has had a dismal air safety record amid a boom in air travel, particularly with

budget carriers.

Mangled parts

The incident took place at the largely-domestic Halim Perdanakusuma airport in Jakarta,

causing the temporary closure of the airport.

The Batik Air plane was carrying 49 passengers and crew, reported AFP news agency.

A spokesman for budget carrier Lion Air Group, which owns Batik Air, told the wire

news agency that the pilot had aborted the takeoff after the collision, and passengers and

crew were safe.

Transport ministry officials said the collision had mangled parts of both aircraft. A video

posted online shows flames erupting from the Batik Air plane wing.

In 2013, a Lion Air plane came down short of the runway at Bali’s Denpasar airport and

crashed into the sea, in an incident that hospitalised at least 22 people.

That same year another Lion Air plane skidded off a runway on the island of Sulawesi

after it crashed into a cow.

In 2014, an Indonesian subsidiary of AirAsia flying from Surabaya to Singapore crashed

into the sea, killing all 162 onboard.