YOGYAKARTA (Indonesia) - THE Garuda Indonesia passenger jet which crashed in Yogyakarta in 2007, killing 21 people, was going too fast as it prepared to land, a co-pilot said on Monday.

Mr Gagam Saman Rohmana, the key witness to the trial of the flag carrier's pilot charged with deliberately crashing the aircraft, told the Indonesian court the Boeing 737 was gliding at 240 knots, above the acceptable limit of under 160 knots.

'The plane shook before landing. After that, I felt nothing as I had lost consciousness and could not utter a word,' Mr Rohmana said.

Former captain Marwoto Komar was sacked by Garuda and had his pilot's licence suspended after he was named as a suspect in February.

Prosecutors charged Komar with three counts of negligence and one count of 'deliberately' destroying or damaging an aircraft causing death, charges that carry a maximum sentence of life in prison.

A government probe found he had ignored 15 automated cockpit warnings not to land as he brought the plane carrying 140 passengers in at roughly twice the safe speed.

Komar claimed in court Mr Rohmana had told the air traffic controller the runway was within view without consulting him first.

'But as the pilot flying, if he could not see the runway, he could have complained. But he didn't,' Mr Rohmana said.

Four of the victims were Australian government officials and a journalist following a visit by then Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer, who was on another plane.

Komar had denied the charges, saying that with 22 years' experience as a pilot he would not have deliberately crashed the plane.

Komar's lawyer Muhammad Assegaf maintained that his client had not crashed the plane on purpose.

'The co-pilot should also be held responsible for the safety when the pilot was not able to do so. He should take over, but instead he went blank,' he said.

Indonesia, which relies heavily on air links across the archipelago, has one of Asia's worst air safety records. -- AFP