No survivors found after Russian plane hits mountain in Indonesia
Source: Agencies |
May 11, 2012, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A RESCUE team found several bodies but no survivors yesterday in the wreckage of a Russian plane that crashed into a mountain in Indonesia during an exhibition flight with 45 people on board.
Russia said it would take part in the investigation of the crash of its first all-new passenger jet since the fall of the Soviet Union, a Superjet 100 aircraft that went missing on Wednesday about 60 kilometers south of Jakarta.
It was carrying Indonesians including journalists and businessmen, eight Russians including embassy officials, pilots and technicians, as well as 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 on Wednesday after it descended to 1,800 meters near Mount Salak, which rises to 2,200 meters above sea level, a rescue official said.
A rescue helicopter spotted debris on the side of the dormant Mount Salak volcano yesterday.
Teams went 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 a wall of rock. Small pieces of white debris could be seen scattered down an exposed stretch of cliff. The cause of the crash was not known.
"The airplane crashed at the edge of Salak mountain. ... An investigation must be done immediately and thoroughly," Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said.
President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian representatives to take part in the investigation, offering his "profound condolences" in a statement on the Kremlin's website.
A senior Russian official suggested the crash was caused by pilot error rather than a technical failure. The plane was Russia's flagship jet and Moscow will hope the crash will not reduce confidence in its civilian aircraft industry.
Superjet International, the Italian-led venture responsible for marketing the plane to the West, said on its website that Sukhoi's chief civil test pilot Alexander Yablontsev and his co-pilot Alexander Kochetkov had been flying the plane.
Yablontsev had accumulated 10,000 flight hours and commanded the Superjet on its maiden flight in 2008.
Sukhoi, which has orders for 170 planes worldwide, plans to produce up to 1,000 Superjets, primarily for foreign markets.
The Sukhoi 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.
Russia said it would take part in the investigation of the crash of its first all-new passenger jet since the fall of the Soviet Union, a Superjet 100 aircraft that went missing on Wednesday about 60 kilometers south of Jakarta.
It was carrying Indonesians including journalists and businessmen, eight Russians including embassy officials, pilots and technicians, as well as 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 on Wednesday after it descended to 1,800 meters near Mount Salak, which rises to 2,200 meters above sea level, a rescue official said.
A rescue helicopter spotted debris on the side of the dormant Mount Salak volcano yesterday.
Teams went 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 a wall of rock. Small pieces of white debris could be seen scattered down an exposed stretch of cliff. The cause of the crash was not known.
"The airplane crashed at the edge of Salak mountain. ... An investigation must be done immediately and thoroughly," Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said.
President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian representatives to take part in the investigation, offering his "profound condolences" in a statement on the Kremlin's website.
A senior Russian official suggested the crash was caused by pilot error rather than a technical failure. The plane was Russia's flagship jet and Moscow will hope the crash will not reduce confidence in its civilian aircraft industry.
Superjet International, the Italian-led venture responsible for marketing the plane to the West, said on its website that Sukhoi's chief civil test pilot Alexander Yablontsev and his co-pilot Alexander Kochetkov had been flying the plane.
Yablontsev had accumulated 10,000 flight hours and commanded the Superjet on its maiden flight in 2008.
Sukhoi, which has orders for 170 planes worldwide, plans to produce up to 1,000 Superjets, primarily for foreign markets.
The Sukhoi 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.
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