Part of jet plane's wing found on runway

A 3m piece of wing from a jet aircraft has been found on a runway at the Indonesian capital's main airport and investigators are trying to trace the plane it originated from, officials said today.

No airline operator had reported the part missing since its discovery yesterday on a runway serving Jakarta's domestic terminal, Wahyu Supriantono, chairman of the Indonesian Aircraft Technicians Association, said by telephone.

"From the serial number printed on the piece, we know that it is a part of the wing but we cannot trace the owner of the plane with the number," Mr Supriantono said, adding that it was unclear whether it came from a passenger or cargo plane.

Frans Wenas, senior investigator at Indonesia's National Transport Safety committee, confirmed the find and said that officials were investigating the origin of the part.

Two weeks ago, a chunk of wing dropped off an Indonesian passenger plane carrying 144 people minutes after take-off from Jakarta, forcing the pilot to turn back.

Although the plane operated by Batavia Air landed safely, the incident sparked fresh concerns about the safety of flying in Indonesia following two major air accidents this year.

The part of that aircraft was later found near the airport and Supriantono said today that six engineers had been suspended over the incident.

In January, an Adam Air jet with 102 people on board plunged into the sea off Sulawesi island.

Another plane accident claimed 21 lives, including five Australians, when a Garuda passenger jet crashed while landing in Yogyakarta in March.

Air travel in Indonesia, a country of more than 17,000 islands, has surged since liberalisation of the industry in the late 1990s but this has triggered concerns that safety has been compromised.

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