Jakarta – Indonesia's economic woes have hit the country's air force. Limiting the flying hours of jet pilots owing to budget shortages, has been blamed for the spate of jet crashes this year.

Air Force chief, Marshal Hanafie Asnan, told a parliamentary hearing that human error had been identified as the cause of air mishaps this year. "The budget for the 2000 fiscal year could only provide 36,060 flight-hours for every aviator per year, while the ideal is 55,000 flight-hours," he said at the hearing with the House of Representative's Commission I for Political, Security and Foreign Affairs.

He contended that the limited budget, which he said could only cover about 9.9 per cent of the air force's total needs, had affected the training programme directly, particularly flight training.

Marshal Hanafie said that the reduced flight hours for fighter pilots had increased the probability of crashes. But he refused to mention the amount by which he would like the air force budget to be raised.

His meeting with legislators on Tuesday was an apparent attempt to lobby House members to ensure that the government allocated sufficient money for the air force. The air force has already lost four of its limited modern fighter planes this year. They include three British-made Hawk 100/200 jet fighters and one US-made A-4 Skyhawk.

The latest crash of a Hawk 100 occurred on Oct 19 near the Supadio Airbase in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, killing both pilots onboard. "Just like the others, the latest crash was also caused by human error," said Marshal Hanafie. Apart from the loss of life, the crashes are also depleting the air force's limited air power.

But one positive development in the force is the news that the Republic of Singapore Air Force intends to "donate" 19 used Italian-made Machetti jet trainers which are similar to the OV-10 Bronco.