MAGETAN, Indonesia, (Reuters) – An Indonesian  military transport plane carrying 110 passengers and crew  crashed and burst into flames in East Java yesterday,  killing at least 98 people on board and on the ground,  officials said.

The C-130 Hercules aircraft ploughed into several houses on  the ground, scattering debris and sending flames and billowing  smoke into the air, in the latest of a series of air disasters  in a country with a poor air safety record.

Air force spokesman Bambang Soelistyo said that 98 people  had been killed, including two on the ground, while there were  15 survivors.

“Some victims are still at the crash site,” said Soelistyo.  He said the plane, with 11 crew and 99 passengers, had crashed  about 6.5 km (4 miles) from the Iswahyudi air force base in  East Java while preparing to land.

National military spokesman Sagom Tamboen told a news  conference the aircraft had been in good condition and the  weather was clear before the crash. But army chief Djoko  Santoso later said there had been fog around the time of the  crash.

The plane had been on a regular flight from Jakarta to the  Iswahyudi air base in Magetan to transport military personnel  and their families. It had been due to fly on to Sulawesi and  Papua.