Garuda covers up crash plane

Garuda officials paints over its tail

Airport workers caused consternation yesterday by cutting off the tail of the wrecked Garuda passenger jet lying in a twisted, melted mess at the end of Yogyakarta runway, and painting out its company logo and registration number.

The dawn cover-up followed a similar attempt at concealing the identity of a crashed Adam Air Boeing 737 just two weeks ago, after what was described as a "hard landing" at Surabaya airport, in east Java, Indonesia.

All passengers escaped from that incident unharmed, but the jet broke in two.

Indonesian air safety officials - including Transport Minister Hatta Radjasa - are facing tough questions about whether the country is serious about improving its appalling record.

Wednesday morning's tragedy, in which the 6am service from Jakarta burst into flames after a crash landing, was the latest in a string of serious mishaps, including the New Year's Day disappearance of an Adam Air jet over Sulawesi.

Garuda officials refused to comment yesterday on why all identifying marks on their aeroplane were removed so quickly.