BY Taiwo George
An Indonesia F-16 fighter jet burst into flames as it was about to take off in Jakarta on Thursday, but the pilot escaped unhurt.
Fuad Basya, the country’s military spokesman, said the aircraft was one of the several F-16 planes provided by the US government to help Indonesia protect its airspace.
“The plane was about to take off when the pilot saw a big fire on the back of the jet. The pilot stopped the plane and jumped but the fire could not be put out,” he said.
In 2012, the US announced that it was giving 24 second-hand F-16s to allow Indonesia a much-needed capability to protect its airspace.
Indonesia said it would have to spend $750 million to upgrade the fleet of aircraft.
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