Aircraft

Flight International online news 08:30GMT: A passenger aircraft has crashed in a residential area on takeoff from the Indonesian city of Medan.



Television pictures from the scene show flaming wreckage of the aircraft, which was completely destroyed in the crash. 

The aircraft was a Boeing 737 operated by domestic carrier Mandala Airlines. More than 100 people are said to have been on board.

Government spokespeople are being widely quoted by local media as saying there were no survivors of the crash.

The aircraft was reportedly headed for the Indonesian capital Jakarta. The reports say it is expected there will be many casualties on the ground as the aircraft crashed into a crowded housing complex next to Medan airport.

Mandala operations director Capt T Basuki says the aircraft was a Boeing 737-200 registered as PK-RIM. According to Avsoft’s ACAS database PK-RIM was built in 1981 and was one of 13 737-200s in the Mandala fleet.