Indonesia to Ground Lockheed Martin C-130 Type B fleet

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  • 06:51 AM, July 2, 2015
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Indonesia to Ground Lockheed Martin C-130 Type B fleet
Indonesian Lockheed Martin C-130B Hercules (Photo: Wikipedia)

The Indonesia air force will immediately ground its fleet of C-130 Type B aircraft following the fatal crash of a similar aircraft in Medan, North Sumatra on Tuesday.

Air Force spokesperson Rear Marshal Dwi Badarmanto  told local media that the Air Force had a number of C-130 aircraft of different types but only Type B aircraft, which were similar to the one that crashed in Medan, would be grounded.

Dwi said the temporary grounding would last until the investigation into the Medan Hercules tragedy had been completed.

“After analyzing the investigation’s results, a decision will be made regarding the temporary grounding,” he said as quoted by kompas.com, an Indonesia based news website.

The ill-fated Hercules aircraft crashed into a housing area in Medan Tuntungan on Tuesday only two minutes after taking off from the Soewondo Airbase at 12:08 p.m killing 142 people. There 113 people on board the aircraft.

Indonesia is reported to have a fleet of 10 C-130 B aircraft before the crash. The Lockheed Martin manufactured planes were bought in the 1960s and 70s and plans are on to modernize the aircraft.

"It was an old aircraft, already 50 years, but it was about to undergo a retrofit. In all we now have 20 Hercules airplanes," Vice President Jusuf Kalla said on Tuesday as quoted by kompas.com.

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