abc.net.au/news/2012-05-09/r … ia/4001902
Indonesian authorities are searching for a Russian plane with at least 44 people on board after it went missing in a mountainous area south of Jakarta.
The Sukhoi Superjet 100 disappeared from the radar near the Bogor area during a demonstration flight.
Indonesia’s search and rescue agency says rescuers are still looking for the plane and are uncertain whether it crashed.
rt.com/news/sukhoi-superjet-disa … radar-838/
A Russian jet carrying 50 passengers has disappeared from the radars during a demonstration flight for potential buyers in the Indonesian capital. Hijacking and a high-altitude crash into a mountain have not been ruled out.
**Due to low visibility and fog the helicopters had to stop the search and return to base. The rescue operation is now restricted to a ground search. The search will continue throughout the night. **
“Now we are mobilizing ground teams in coordination with the local police and military units to find the aircraft’s whereabouts,” the Indonesian Search and Rescue Agency chief, Vice Marshal Daryatmo told the Jakarta Post.
Rescuers have updated the plane’s last-known coordinates and narrowed the search area. In the morning, five helicopters are expected to join the rescue operation. According to Russian diplomats, connection with the plane was lost as it passed over the western end of Java. **The search mission is concentrating around Mount Salak (Gunung Salak), a 7,250 foot high, (2,200-meter) volcano about 50 km from the airport. **
Indonesia’s Transport Ministry is still considering the plane as “missing,” as a crash has not been confirmed.
The latest reports suggest the mobile phones of several passengers might still be working. Blogger and traveler Sergey Dolya, who was on a previous flight on the same aircraft, tweeted that he has been trying to call his Russian friends for several hours.
“Sometimes the calls go through, sometimes they get rejected. But no one picks up. Locals do not know how to locate [the phone’s position],” a recent tweet by Dolya says. Dolya has also tweeted that he sent a short message to each of the phones and is now waiting to receive delivery notifications.
May 9, 10:52 PM (ET)
apnews.myway.com/article/20120510/D9ULIQU00.html
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - An air force official says the wreckage of a Russian-made passenger jet that disappeared during a demonstration flight in Indonesia appears to have been spotted on the side of a volcano.
Maj. Ali Umri Lubis, of Atang Sanjaya Air base in Bogor, told MetroTV on Thursday that helicopters spotted what they believe is the plane on the side of a cliff on Mount Salak in West Java province.
He said it was at an elevation of about 1,500 meters (5,000 feet) but had no further details.
So is what’s the consensus… is the Superjet dead? What was the net effect on the A320 when it was put in the trees a number of years ago on that demo flight? I predates my deep interest…
They are saying it will be months before they sort out the exact causes of the crash, so, there is no consensus that I know of.
Speaking more of consensus around here as to the viability of the Superjet, regardless of cause. Remember… the Edsel wasn’t an engineering failure… just a marketing one…
http://www.avweb.com/avwebbiz/news/SuperJet_Pilots_Blamed_207862-1.html
Indonesian investigators say the pilots aboard a Sukhoi Superjet 100 airliner that crashed into a mountain last May, killing all 45 on board, were to blame for the crash. They said the crew ignored repeated warnings from the aircraft’s systems of the impending terrain conflicts because they thought the alerts were the result of a database problem. In fact, it appears the crew never knew what they hit since they turned off the terrain avoidance functions just before the aircraft, on a demo flight with potential customers, hit Mt. Salak.