Lion Air plane forced to abort takeoff after hitting lamp postA Lion Air passenger jet crashed into a lamp post just before taking off, causing a tear in its left wing. The incident happened just 10 days after another jet belonging to the low-cost carrier crashed with 189 people on board.
In a new blow to the Indonesian budget airline, a Lion Air jet was due to take off from Bengkulu Airport on Wednesday night when it smashed into a lamp post.
The plane – which was carrying 145 passengers destined for Soekarno-Hatta International Airport near Jakarta – was left with the tip of its left wing damaged as a result of banging into the obstacle.
The flight had to be cancelled and passengers had to be transferred to a different aircraft.
Lion Air said in a statement that ground staff misled the pilots with their directions.
“The pilot only followed the instruction and directions from the Aircraft Movement Control (AMC) officer,” Lion Air spokesman Danang Mandala Prihantoro said, the National reports.
He also reportedly said the airport and AMC officer issued an apology over the incident.
The accident came 10 days after Lion Air grabbed headlines when one of its jets plunged into the Java Sea, tragically killing all 189 people on board.
