Russian passenger jet crashes on Indonesian demonstration flight

May 10, 2012

A plane built by Russia's has crashed in Indonesia with around 50 people on board during a demonstration flight to potential customers. The struck a cliff as it descended over mountains near Jakarta.

The aircraft departed at around 2pm local time yesterday and was due to return 50 minutes later. A search and rescue mission was dispatched to West Java, where the aircraft crashed in the. Bad weather and nightfall initially hampered rescue efforts but a helicopter found the crash site after dawn. Everything reportedly was normal that day on a preflight check and earlier demonstration flight. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev today ordered an investigation into the accident, while Indonesian President today said "I expect that there will be a full and careful investigation".

Those on board include journalists, Russian diplomats, and representatives of prospective customer airlines. The flight crew had requested permission for a descent from 10,000ft to 6,000ft shortly before contact was lost. It struck a 7,000ft mountain and the reason for the descent is not immediately apparent. The jet was touring Asia on a sales promotion with stops including Pakistan, Vietnam, Laos, Kazakhstan, and Burma.

With a maiden flight in 2008, several Superjet 100s are in service and Sukhoi boasts orders for about 200 more. The first newly-designed post-Soviet Russian airliner, a commercial offering by military planemaker Sukhoi, it seats around 100 and retails for 31.7 million. This is cheaper than products from ; and Sukhoi has sought the services of Western firms including of France and  of Italy, potentially mitigating safety fears about Soviet-era technology.

Sukhoi's top test pilot, Alexander Yablontsev, and co-pilot Alexander Kochetkov reportedly were due to be at the controls of the crashed plane. The exact number on board is reported as being from 44 to 50. Sukhoi Civil Aircraft boss Vladimir Prisyazhnyuk said the flight carried eight, including technical staff, from Russia; two from Italy; and one each from France and the United States. The wreckage is in small pieces and, following unconfirmed reports saying bodies were seen, a search team reported no survivors found but several corpses.

So far, of Russia and  of  are the only airlines to have brought the jet into service. Mexico has recently given approval to the plane, allowing Western operator to join the Russian airlines before year's end. Sukhoi hopes to scale up production, presently below planned levels, and already has firm deals in place in Asia including with of Indonesia.