"New Russian Aircraft Crashes During a Promotional Flight in Indonesia" by ANDREW E. KRAMER and NICOLA CLARK, May 9, 2012
MOSCOW — The wreckage of a demonstration airplane for a Russian-made
passenger jet that vanished on Wednesday during a 50-minute flight over Indonesia was found there on Thursday on the side of a mountain volcano shrouded in mist.
There were no signs of survivors among the 50 people, including crew
members, journalists and airline representatives, aboard the plane, the
Sukhoi Superjet 100, a spokesman for Indonesia’s Search and Rescue
National Agency told The Associated Press.
The fate of the jetliner — the first new model to be produced in Russia since the end of the Soviet Union — was a crushing blow to a national aerospace industry eager for revival.
Hmmm.
The Superjet took off from Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in Jakarta on
Wednesday afternoon for its second demonstration flight of the day. It
disappeared from radar screens and lost contact with ground controllers
about 20 minutes later after requesting permission to descend to 6,000
feet from 10,000 feet over the mountainous terrain of West Java.
Thick fog prevented search parties from locating the plane on Wednesday.
When the weather cleared on Thursday, search helicopters spotted the
wreckage on the side of a cliff about 5,000 feet up Mount Salak in West
Java, Maj. Ali Umri Lubis of the Indonesian Air Force told MetroTV.
The Superjet carried much of Russia’s hope for reinvigorating an
industry with a storied history of accomplishment. Its loss will deepen
the malaise in an industry whose safety problems, breakdowns and lethal
crashes have made it hard to sell planes outside the former Soviet
Union, Iran, Cuba and parts of Africa.
It also casts a pall over a week of celebrations of Vladimir V. Putin’s
third inauguration as president. The loss occurred just as Russia’s
leaders were overseeing the lavish yearly display of military might to
commemorate Victory Day, the anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany.
The Superjet 100 was produced by the government-controlled Sukhoi
company, which is far better known for its fighter planes. Senior
officials from Russia’s trade ministry and aviation safety agency and
Sukhoi’s top managers left Moscow for Indonesia on Wednesday afternoon,
the company announced.
“They have to clear this up very, very fast in terms of causes,” said
Richard Aboulafia, an aerospace analyst at the Teal Group consultancy in
Fairfax, Va....
It said the aircraft had completed 500 flights without any reports of
serious technical problems.
Until a crash inquiry is done, analysts said, Sukhoi will have
difficulty marketing the Superjet....
¢ui bono?
It is rare for such a young aircraft to crash....
The Superjet seemed afflicted with troubles from early on.
The first Superjet to enter commercial service last year with Aeroflot,
Russia’s national airline, was grounded because of a breakdown of a
meter that detects leaks in pipes that funnel fresh air into the cabin.
As the Superjet entered production, the Russian television station NTV
reported that 70 employees at the manufacturing plant had obtained fake
engineering diplomas by bribing a local technical college. Sukhoi said
they were not directly involved in assembling the planes.
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"12 victims found in jetliner wreckage" ASSOCIATED PRESS, May 12, 2012
MOUNT SALAK, Indonesia - Search teams who scaled a volcano’s steep slopes found at least 12 bodies Friday near the wreckage of a Russian-made jetliner that crashed in Indonesia during a demonstration flight for potential buyers, an official said....
The Superjet-100 is Russia’s first new model passenger jet since the fall of the Soviet Union two decades ago and was intended to help resurrect its aerospace industry.
--more--"
Related: Indonesia plane crash illustrates risks of demonstration flights
Also see: SABOTAGE OF RUSSIAN PLANE THAT CRASHED IN INDONESIA?
Sure smells like it.
