The co-pilot of Garuda Indonesia Flight 200 which crashed and burned in Yogyakarta in March last year killing 21 people now claims he blacked out until the plane came to a halt in a ricefield.

Our Jakarta correspondent Geoff Thompson reports the co-pilot says the detailed evidence he earlier gave police was influenced by media reporting.

In evidence given to police Garuda Indonesia co-pilot Gagam Saman Rohmana said that his plane was flying too fast when it crashed in Yogyakarta.

He repeatedly tells pilot Marwoto Komar to "go around" rather than attempt to land on the airport's short runway at almost twice the normal speed.

But appearing as a witness at the criminal trial of Captain Komar, Mr Gagam withdrew that testimony and now says he fainted at an altitude of 2,500 feet and didn't wake up until the plane was already on the runway.

He said he found himself upside down when it came to rest in a ricefield.