Indonesian airliner skids off runway, injuring five

Mar 10, 2008, 12:29 GMT

Jakarta - A Boeing 737-400 plane belonging to Indonesia's Adam Air skidded off a wet runway while landing at Hang Nadim Aiport on Batam island Monday morning, injuring five people, airport officials and local media reports said.

The Adam Air flight was carrying 169 passengers and six crew from the capital Jakarta, said E Amir, head of the airport's aviation security division.

Five people suffered neck and head injuries, he said.

After being rushed to the airport's clinic following the accident, four of them were transferred to Batam's main hospital, while another one was discharged and allowed to leave the hospital, Amir was quoted as saying by the state-run Antara news agency.

He said bad weather and a wet runway due to rains had caused the plane to skid off the runway, explaining that the plane came to a stop about 75 meters from the end of the runway. The plane's right wing, hydraulic system and rear landing gear were damaged.

'The plane was forced to go around while trying to make a landing because the weather was unfavourable,' another airport official said.

The accident forced the closure of the Hang Nadim airport for two hours, delaying the arrival of four incoming and the departure of three outgoing flights.

Indonesia's airlines have come under scrutiny after a series of accidents in 2007 killed more than 120 people, including the 2007 New Year's Day accident when an Adam Air jetliner crashed into the sea off the western Coast of Sulawesi with 102 people on board.

The series of aviation accidents prompted the European Union to ban flights from Indonesia. The ban is currently under review.