Indonesian plane's main exit didn't open -official

YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia, Mar 9 (Reuters) The main front left exit of an Indonesian plane that crashed this week failed to open after landing, preventing some of the passengers from escaping, a leading crash investigator today said.

Most survivors were from the coach class who exited from the back left door, while some passengers, including those from the front seats, used the left overwing exits, said Frans Wenas, a senior investigator at the National Transport Safety Commission.

''Our findings showed the plane had been damaged after hitting a dyke,'' Wenas told Reuters, referring to an embankment by the runway. ''The hinges of the front door were broken.'' ''Probably, smoke entered from the front right side. Everything became dark after smoke went in, so they tried to find exits that could be seen.'' Many of the plane's business class passengers were among those trapped inside when fire engulfed the jet, according to information from airliner Garuda Indonesia.

The Garuda Indonesia plane with 133 passengers and seven crew overshot the runway, ploughed through a wire fence and slammed into an embankment before bursting into flames in a paddy field in Yogyakarta on Wednesday.

The airline and other sources have given slightly different figures on the number of dead, ranging from 20 to 23.

BLACK BOX TO AUSTRALIA Flight GA 200 from Jakarta was a Boeing 737-400 plane with eight emergency outlets.

Investigators have sent the plane's black box to Australia to analyse the flight data. Indonesian police say early signs suggested human error.

The pilot and co-pilot survived without major injuries but have not been questioned yet because they are still in shock.

Aviation experts say Garuda's safety record has improved in recent years, especially after a 1997 accident on Sumatra island that killed all 234 on board.

The only deadly accident between that one and Wednesday's crash was an emergency landing in a Java river that killed one crew member in 2002.

Yogyakarta, around 440 km southeast of Jakarta, is known as the cultural heart of Indonesia and is popular with tourists. Its Adisucipto airport is known for its short runway.

Indonesia has suffered a string of transport accidents in recent months, including an Adam Air plane that disappeared in January with 102 passengers and crew on board and a ferry sinking in late December in which hundreds died.

There has been no apparent drop in air transport demand, although Indonesia has suffered two deadly plane accidents in less than three months.

Thirty protesters rallied near the transport ministry in Jakarta today, demanding Minister Hatta Radjasa resign.

''If you use a ferry, it will sink. If you use a plane, it will fall. If you use a train, it will derail,'' said a protester.

Reuters SY DB1227