Missing Indonesian plane found

Jakarta - Searchers on Monday located a small plane that went missing during a flight over Indonesia's Sulawesi island with 10 people on board, an official said. 

The DHC-6 Twin Otter operated by domestic airline Aviastar lost contact Friday about 11 minutes after takeoff from the town of Masamba en route to Makassar, the capital of South Sulawesi province.  

"What is certain is that it has been found," Bambang Sulistyo, the head of the National Search and Rescue Agency, told dpa. 

He declined to provide further details. 

Bambang's deputy, Heronimus Guru, said authorities had received information from residents that the plane was found in Mount Latimojong in Enrekang district.

"It's a rugged and forested area," he said. 

Poor aviation safety

Earlier in the day the search was expanded to cover the Gulf of Bone off Luwu regency. 

Transport Minister Ignasius Jonan said authorities were investigating a report that the plane did not fly the determined route, instead taking a short cut in violation of regulations. 

Jonan said the airline's Masamba-Makassar service had been suspended pending the result of an investigation by the National Transport Safety Committee.

Indonesia, which has a reputation for poor aviation safety, has experienced four deadly air accidents since December.

In August, an ATR 42-300 plane operated by Trigana Air Service crashed into a mountain in Papua province, killing 54 people on board.

In June, at least 141 people were killed after an Indonesian Air Force C-130 plane crashed into a residential area in Medan, North Sumatra and burst into flames. 

AirAsia flight QZ8501 crashed into the Java Sea off Borneo midway from Surabaya to Singapore late December, killing all 162 people on board.