A passenger plane belonging to budget carrier Lion Air hit a lamp post at an airport in Sumatra
- A Lion Air jet clipped a lamp post at an airport in Sumatra on Wednesday night.
- The incident occurred before takeoff as the plane taxied to the runway.
- This latest accident occurred fewer than two weeks after a Lion Air jet fell into the Java Sea minutes after takeoff from Jakarta, killing all 189 people on board. It was Indonesia's worst air disaster in 20 years.
A Lion Air passenger plane reportedly hit a lamp post, fewer than two weeks after Indonesia's discount carrier crashed a jet off the coast of Java, killing all 189 people on board.
Late on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg, a Boeing 737-900ER operated by Lion Air subsidiary, PT Lion Mentari Airlines hit a pole causing significant structural damage to the wing.
The plane was taxiing at Bengkulu Fatmawati Soekarno airport in the island of Sumatra. The accident left a significant hole in the left wing. Indonesia's Transportation Ministry has said it will investigate the incident which happened around 6:30 p.m. local time.
The loss of Lion Air flight JT610 on October 28, which fell into the ocean just 13 minutes after leaving Jakarta, was Indonesia's worst air disaster in two decades. It was also Lion Air's first accident since 2004.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Wednesday also issued an emergency airworthiness directive on about 250 Boeing 737 Max aircraft after Boeing issued a bulletin to customers of the 737 Max in the aftermath of the Lion Air tragedy.