Over 140 dead after military plane crashes in Indonesian city

Rescuers search for victims at the site where an Indonesian Air Force cargo plane crashed into a residential neighbourhood in the country's third-largest city, Medan. Photo / AP

An ageing Indonesian military plane packed with soldiers and their families crashed after takeoff in a densely populated area of Sumatra's biggest city, killing more than 140 in the latest air disaster to beset the Southeast Asian nation.

The Lockheed C-130 Hercules was carrying 101 passengers and 12 crew, and there were no survivors, Air Force Chief Agus Supriyatna said. The plane hit buildings and cars, smashing into a hotel and a sauna. By yesterday afternoon 141 bodies had been recovered.

The Hercules, in operation since 1964, took off from the city of Medan on a routine flight.

The pilot had asked to return to base and the Air Force believes there was a malfunction, MetroTV reported.

The crash raises fresh questions about the health and age of Indonesia's Air Force planes.

President Joko Widodo has pledged to boost defence spending to replace outdated equipment as Indonesia faces the challenge of preserving maritime security along the world's largest archipelago. Indonesia's defence spending will increase 17 per cent this year to US$7.3 billion ($10.7 billion) and is expected to grow 14 per cent a year until the end of the decade.

Widodo has laid out an ambitious vision that spans the development of the fishing industry, improved port infrastructure, stronger sea defences and better diplomacy as Indonesia deals with illegal fishing, territorial disputes and piracy. Key to that is modernising the military in a country that's long focused its defence spending on ground forces rather than the Navy or Air Force.

The plane crashed two minutes after takeoff, said Wisnu Darjono, a director at the state air navigation agency.

It dropped onto the same road where a PT Mandala Airlines Boeing 737-200 crashed in 2005, killing 149 people, including passengers and people on the ground.

The crash is the latest deadly accident in Indonesia's dilapidated and poorly regulated transport network.

An AirAsia flight from Surabaya to Singapore crashed into the Java sea on December 28, killing all 162 on board and leading the Government to fire officials after finding the airline was in breach of permits.