The C-130 was carrying military members and their families. From AP-

An Indonesian military plane carrying troops and their families crashed into a row of houses and burst into flames Wednesday, killing at least 98 people, the latest in a string of accidents plaguing the beleaguered air force.

Black smoke billowed in the air as soldiers carried the injured past the burning wreckage of the C-130 Hercules — its tail resting upside down in a rice paddy and the rest of the charred fuselage scattered over several hundred yards (meters).

Military spokesman Sagom Tamboen said the transport plane, built in 1980, plunged to the ground near an air force base in East Java province, slamming into a residential neighborhood and then skidding into a field.

It was not clear what caused the crash, but several witnesses described seeing its right wing fall off while it was still in the air.

“I heard at least two big explosions and saw flashes of fire inside the plane,” said Lamidi, a 41-year-old peasant who was working in a nearby rice field and ran for cover. “The wing snapped off and fell to the ground.”

The plane was carrying at least 109 passengers and crew, including troops and their families, when it went down in Geplak, a village 325 miles (520 kilometers) east of the capital, Jakarta. At least 10 children were among them.

I recall a few years ago there being a air disaster in Africa where a transport plane carrying military and their families, depressurized in mid-air. The death toll was similar to this crash.

Because of US sanctions on Indonesia, spare parts for their military aircraft are supposed to be in short supply.

The aviation industry in Indonesia has earned a worse safety reputation than South Korea had in the 1990’s.(KAL has appeared to straighten up its act since the 801 disaster on Guam.) The European Union banned Indonesian air carriers from flying to Europe.