Hercules strands Goff

Foreign Affairs Minister Phil Goff was stranded in Jakarta yesterday as another Royal New Zealand Air Force Hercules was grounded with mechanical problems.

It was the second aircraft in the past week to be grounded during tsunami aid missions, adding to the ageing fleet's growing list of breakdowns.

New Zealand has two Hercules operating in Indonesia. The other plane was grounded this week after a crack was found in a manifold.

National MP Nick Smith said the first breakdown was an embarrassment, but two in a week was beyond a joke.

"It illustrates just how badly the Government has run down our Air Force, and an unreliable Air Force is pointless. This is a major embarrassment for New Zealand."

Mr Goff was meant to be joining the flight from Jakarta to Indonesia's tsunami-stricken Aceh province yesterday, but the Hercules C130 was grounded by problems with the gas turbine compressor which starts the engines.

Defence public relations officer Danielle Coe said it came down to the age of the aircraft.

"It's very frustrating for everyone involved, for the flight crew and maintenance people."

She said the aircraft was still expected to make the flight from Jakarta to the Aceh province although it would be delayed.

"You have to remember they work in really trying conditions. They're long days for the aircraft, flight crew and maintainers."

The tarmac of Jakarta's Hakim military airport is filled with other C130 Hercules from Australia, Indonesia and the United States.

In the past week, all three nations have had aircraft grounded with electrical or mechanical faults.