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Demo Flight of Russian Superjet, not so super

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  • Demo Flight of Russian Superjet, not so super



    Wreckage of Russian Superjet found strewn on Indonesian mountain

    A rescue team found no survivors but several bodies on Thursday when it arrived at the wreckage of a Russian plane that crashed into an Indonesian mountain during an exhibition flight with 45 people on board.

    Russia’s first all-new passenger jet since the fall of the Soviet Union, a Superjet 100 aircraft, went missing on Wednesday about 64 kilometres south of Jakarta.

    It was carrying Indonesians, including journalists and businessmen, eight Russians, including embassy officials, pilots and technicians, two Italians, one French citizen and one American, said Vladimir Prisyazhnyuk, the head of Sukhoi Civil Aircraft.

    “We haven’t found survivors,” Gagah Prakoso, spokesman of the search and rescue team, told Indonesia’s Metro TV.

    Radio contact with the aircraft was lost after it descended to 1,800 metres near Mount Salak, which rises to 2,200 metres above sea level, a rescue official said.

    A search resumed at dawn on Thursday and a rescue helicopter later spotted debris on the side of the dormant Mount Salak volcano, sending multiple teams on a trek across steep and heavily forested terrain to reach the site.

    A picture taken from the helicopter appeared to show that the plane hit the top of an almost vertical wall of rock. Small pieces of white debris could be seen scattered down an exposed stretch of cliff.

    “The airplane crashed at the edge of Salak mountain ... An investigation must be done immediately and thoroughly,” President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told a news conference.

    Sukhoi’s chief civil test pilot, Alexander Yablontsev, and his co-pilot, Alexander Kochetkov, flew the plane, Superjet International, the Italian-led venture responsible for marketing the plane to the West, said in a statement on its website.

    Mr. Yablontsev had accumulated 10,000 flight hours and commanded the Superjet on its maiden flight in 2008.

    The aircraft made two demonstration flights on Wednesday.

    It returned to Halim Perdanakusuma airport, east of Jakarta, after the first flight where some people got off because it was the time for Muslim prayers and they then were left behind, according to Sunaryo, chairman of Sukhoi’s Indonesian agent, PT Trimarga Rekatama. Others who had not planned to fly got on board.

    The crash came 45 years after a Dutch-built Fokker F-27 flew into a hill in the Philippines on a promotional sortie due to probable pilot error, said the Flight Safety Foundation.

    “There have been losses on demonstration flights and they are not generally the fault of the airplane. But without more information it is impossible to know the circumstances here,” said Paul Hayes, safety director at aviation consultancy Ascend.

    Sukhoi, which has orders for 170 planes worldwide, plans to produce up to 1,000 Superjets, primarily for foreign markets.

    It aimed to sell 42 planes to Indonesia, which is seeing a fast-expanding aviation market that aims to tap travel by a growing middle class in the world’s fourth-most populous nation.

    Indonesia’s Sky Aviation signed a commitment last August to buy 12 Sukhoi Superjet 100s.

    “Some of our staff were in the plane. We are waiting for the investigation by the authorities, whether it’s human error or plane issues,” said Sutito Zainudin, general manager marketing of PT Sky Aviation.

    “We will take further action about the Sukhoi (purchase) after the investigation is completed,” Mr. Zainudin said. A state-run newspaper in Vietnam said Laos was the first country in Southeast Asia to have placed an order for the aircraft.

    The jet was developed with Western design advice and technology from companies including Italy’s Finmeccanica , as well as avionics and engine equipment from French aerospace firms Thales and Safran.

    Built in a converted corner of a Sukhoi fighter factory in Siberia, the Superjet was unveiled in 2007 as part of a drive to restore pride in Russia’s aviation industry, but it ran into a series of development delays.

    The Superjet 100, with a capacity of 68-103 passengers, is already in service with Russia’s Aeroflot and Armenian carrier Armavia and was half way through a 15,500-kilometre, six-nation Asian tour to try to drum up more international customers.

    The aircraft is being marketed internationally in partnership with Finmeccanica subsidiary Alenia Aeronautica.
    While there's no proof it's mechanical/design failure, I wouldn't be surprised.

    I've been watching the development of the S-100 for a while and was curious if Russia was finally ready to compete with the big boys in aviation...
    "The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
    Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "

  • #2
    Can I ask how many meters are in a foot? Because this article says the plane disappeared below 1,800 meters, which by my calculations means it disappeared below sea level.

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    • #3
      That's 5900 feet
      "The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
      Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "

      Comment


      • #4
        More for my feet.
        Click here if you're having trouble sleeping.
        "We confess our little faults to persuade people that we have no large ones." - François de La Rochefoucauld

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        • #5
          My guess is the altimeter was crap. The mountain there was 1750 meters high or so.
          Graffiti in a public toilet
          Do not require skill or wit
          Among the **** we all are poets
          Among the poets we are ****.

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          • #6
            Originally posted by Asher View Post
            http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle2428365/



            While there's no proof it's mechanical/design failure, I wouldn't be surprised.

            I've been watching the development of the S-100 for a while and was curious if Russia was finally ready to compete with the big boys in aviation...
            The s-100 looks like a 737. WTF is this.
            "I hope I get to punch you in the face one day" - MRT144, Imran Siddiqui
            'I'm fairly certain that a ban on me punching you in the face is not a "right" worth respecting." - loinburger

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            • #7
              Originally posted by onodera View Post
              My guess is the altimeter was crap. The mountain there was 1750 meters high or so.
              Actually, it's 2200m.

              Read the latest breaking news in Canada and the rest of the world. We bring all of today's top headlines and stories to your fingertips.


              All of the dozens aboard a Russian Sukhoi passenger jet flying on a sales promotion trip in Indonesia were killed when the plane slammed into a mountain, officials said on Thursday.

              Rescuers who reached the remote site found bodies scattered near the wreckage of Russia’s first post-Soviet civilian plane on the sheer face of Mount Salak, outside the city of Bogor, south of Jakarta.

              “We entered the area … and found the dead bodies, but we cannot say about the number,” said Gagah Prakoso, spokesman for the national search and rescue agency.

              “We haven’t found any survivors.”

              When the weather clears, all recovered bodies will have to be hoisted by nets and ropes onto hovering choppers, said Gagah Prakoso, a spokesman for the national search and rescue agency.

              Sukhoi’s chief civil test pilot, Alexander Yablontsev, and his co-pilot, Alexander Kochetkov, flew the plane, Superjet International, the Italian-led venture responsible for marketing the plane to the West, said in a statement on its website.

              Yablontsev had accumulated 10,000 flight hours and commanded the Superjet on its maiden flight in 2008.

              The aircraft made two demonstration flights on Wednesday.

              It returned to Halim Perdanakusuma airport, east of Jakarta, after the first flight where some people got off because it was the time for Muslim prayers and then got left behind, according to Sunaryo. Others who had not planned to fly got on board.

              Just 21 minutes after takeoff from a Jakarta airfield, however, the Russian pilot and co-pilot asked for permission to drop from 10,000 feet to 6,000 feet (3,000 metres to 1,800 metres), said Daryatmo, chief of the national search and rescue agency.

              They gave no explanation, disappearing from the radar immediately afterward.

              It was not clear why the crew asked to shift course, especially since they were so close to the 7,000-foot (2,200-meter) volcano, or whether they got an OK, Daryatmo said.

              Communication tapes will be reviewed as part of the investigation. It’s unlikely they will be released to the public any time soon.

              The twin-engine Superjet 100 vanished from radar screens on Wednesday, 50 minutes into what was meant to be a short flight to show off its capabilities to prospective buyers as Russia tries to rebuild its civilian jet industry.

              Reports of the number on board varied. Trimarga Rekatama, the company responsible for the doomed flight’s guest list, originally said 50 passengers were on board but Thursday revised the number to 45.

              Local rescue officials said the plane was carrying 46 people.

              Those aboard were mostly Indonesian aviation representatives, but also included eight Russians — four of them crew and four Sukhoi employees — plus an American and a Frenchman, officials said.
              Odd how they wanted to drop altitude so close to the mountain. Maybe they wanted to do a close fly-by for the nice scenic views?
              The enemy cannot push a button if you disable his hand.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Combat Ingrid View Post
                Actually, it's 2200m.

                Read the latest breaking news in Canada and the rest of the world. We bring all of today's top headlines and stories to your fingertips.




                Odd how they wanted to drop altitude so close to the mountain. Maybe they wanted to do a close fly-by for the nice scenic views?
                hot dogging is never advisable.
                "I hope I get to punch you in the face one day" - MRT144, Imran Siddiqui
                'I'm fairly certain that a ban on me punching you in the face is not a "right" worth respecting." - loinburger

                Comment


                • #9
                  When my altimeter is off in Microsoft Flight Simulator, I am always alerted and just have to press 'b' to correct it. I cannot imagine it being that much harder in real life. Therefore, the cause of this crash was likely not a faulty altimeter.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Wiglaf View Post
                    When my altimeter is off in Microsoft Flight Simulator, I am always alerted and just have to press 'b' to correct it. I cannot imagine it being that much harder in real life. Therefore, the cause of this crash was likely not a faulty altimeter.
                    Is there a 9/11 mission in/for MFS?
                    Graffiti in a public toilet
                    Do not require skill or wit
                    Among the **** we all are poets
                    Among the poets we are ****.

                    Comment


                    • #11

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                      • #12
                        Man, and the design is still almost brand new. That's some bad news for the company because a crash when a plane is new can totally kill demand for the plane. In the 1950's British Aerospace/De Havilland actually beat the American aircraft companies (Boeing, McDonald, Douglas, and Lockheed) in rolling out a passenger jet liner with the BA Comet but an early spectacular crash practically killed all orders and almost brought down the entire company.
                        Try http://wordforge.net/index.php for discussion and debate.

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                        • #13
                          And then there's the A320 demo flight crash. Man, did that ever kill the plane. That one even crashed on video.
                          "The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
                          Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "

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                          • #14
                            Boeing execs probably creamed their pants at that one.

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                            • #15
                              To be clear, I was being sarcastic.

                              They've built over 5,000 of the type already.
                              "The issue is there are still many people out there that use religion as a crutch for bigotry and hate. Like Ben."
                              Ben Kenobi: "That means I'm doing something right. "

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