Kupang:
A Merpati plane carrying 50 people landed hard, slamming both engines onto the runway at an airport in eastern Indonesia on Monday, and an airport official said some passengers were injured but there were no fatalities.
The Chinese-made Xian MA-60 twin turboprop aircraft was operated by state-run Merpati Nusantara Airlines. It was landing at El Tari airport in the East Nusa Tenggara capital of Kupang, said airport authority head Imam Pramono. He said the flight originated from Bajawa on Flores island.
Merpati spokesman Akhmad Zulfikri said in a written statement that the plane was carrying 46 passengers along with four crew members. Pramono initially said 46 people in total were on board.
Nine passengers were being treated at three hospitals, Zulfikri said. Two foreigners were on board - a Malaysian co-pilot and an American passenger.
The plane was produced in 2007 and has been used by Merpati since December 2010, he said. A similar model plane operated by Myanma Airways suffered a minor landing mishap, causing damage to the aircraft but no injuries, in Myanmar on Monday.
The cause of the hard landing is under investigation, but photos show both wings tilted forward and the engines resting on the runway while the nose gear appears to be missing.
Ety, the mother of the only baby on the flight, said she saw smoke inside the cabin before it landed. She uses only one name like many Indonesians.
In May 2011, another MA60 aircraft flown by Merpati crashed into the ocean off eastern Indonesia, killing all 25 people on board.
Indonesia is one of fastest growing air travel markets in Asia, but the country has a troubled past when it comes to air safety. In April, a Lion Air plane belly-flopped into the ocean just shy of the runway off the resort island of Bali. All 108 people aboard survived.
The cause of the accident is still under investigation, but a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Committee has urged the budget carrier to immediately address safety concerns by providing more training for pilots during critical landing times.
In 2007, the Europe Union banned all Indonesian airlines due to a lack of compliance with international safety rules. It has lifted restrictions for some carriers as improvements are made, but Lion Air and Merpati remain on the blacklist.