Banyuwangi, E Java (ANTARA News) - A training airplane burst into flames on Monday after failing to land at Blimbingsari Airport in Banyuwangi district, East Java.

The pilot of the Cesna 172 aircraft was reportedly injured and taken to Muhammadiyah Hospital in Rogojampi for medical treatment, a source said.

"I saw a column of black smoke at the airport. I thought that something caught fire. I asked an airport officer and he told me that a trainer caught fire," Hadi, an eyewitness, said.

Spokesman for the airport Irdian Ari refused to explain why the trainer, belonging to the Mandiri Utama Flight Academy (MUFA), failed to land.

However, Chief of Blimbingsari Airport Dodi Dharma will meet with the press on Tuesday at 08.00 a.m. to provide details of the accident, Ari said.

To investigate why the plane failed to land, airport officials will coordinate with the National Committee for Transportation Safety (KNKT), he said.

"The fire, which gutted the trainer aircraft, has been put out and the aircraft's crew has been evacuated from the runway so that commercial flights will be resumed after 02.00 p.m.," he said.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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