The jet was carrying 110 people when it banked off the bovine and ran into a field.
The pilot told airport police he saw animals on the runway but he thought they were dogs.
After the wheels of the plane crushed and killed one of the cows and dragged it along the pilot said he could "smell burning meat.”
No one on board was hurt but the airport was closed for several hours as the Lion air jet sat partially in a field and partially on the runway.
The incident happened at Gorontalo airport on northern Sulawesi Island in Indonesia.
The nation is known to have a less than stellar safety record in aviation and Lion air had had trouble there as well.
In April a Lion air flight missed the runway and went into the ocean on the island of Bali.
Fortunately, no one was hurt in that accident but the cow was killed. The other two animals were not harmed.