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Russian Sukhoi plane carrying 46 people disappears over Indonesia Russian Sukhoi plane carrying 46 people disappears over Indonesia
(about 2 hours later)
Air traffic controllers have lost contact with a Russian-made plane carrying 46 people in western Indonesia, a government official said. A commercial jet intended to herald a new era in Russian aviation has disappeared from the radar during an exhibition flight in Indonesia, leaving the fate of its 50 passengers unknown.
National search agency spokesman Gagah Prakoso said the Sukhoi Superjet 100 was on a demonstration flight when it lost contact with authorities near Salak mountain in West Java province on Wednesday. He said a rescue team had been dispatched to the area. The Sukhoi Superjet-100 took off from Halim Perdanakusuma airport in Jakarta at 2pm on Wednesday and was scheduled to return less than hour later. Air traffic controllers lost contact with the jet after it descended from 10,000 to 6,000ft as it was preparing to land. Local reports said a 6,200ft peak, part of the Salak mountain range, stood along the flight path.
The aircraft took off from Jakarta's Halim Perdanakusuma airport at 2pm local time (0800 BST) and was scheduled to return 50 minutes later. Indonesia deployed search-and-rescue teams but some had to turn back because of poor weather. "We are still looking for it and we are uncertain whether it crashed," Gagah Prakoso, spokesman for Indonesia's national search and rescue agency, told news agencies.
The civilian plane, developed by the Russian aerospace company Sukhoi in co-operation with western partners, made its maiden flight in 2008 and is being demonstrated in the region. The jet was carrying 50 people, including 38 Indonesians, eight Russians, two Italians, a Frenchman and an American, RIA-Novosti, a Russian news agency, reported. Most were airline representatives or journalists.
Russia hopes the short-to-mid-range jet, the first completely new airliner designed by Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union, will help it break into international markets dominated by Boeing and Airbus. The Sukhoi Superjet-100 was on an Asian roadshow in a search to find buyers for the first commercial jet produced by Sukhoi, a Soviet-era military airline manufacturer. It is also the first aeroplane designed by a Russian company since the fall of the Soviet Union.
Officials had hailed the aircraft, a short- to mid-range flyer, as proof that Russian-producer aircraft could compete on the world stage. They had hoped the Sukhoi would turn around Russia's poor flight safety record, both at home and in poorer countries abroad, where Soviet-era jets remain popular because of their low price tag.
Yet the Superjet-100, used by Aeroflot and Armenia's Armavia airline, had already run into problems. In March, a Superjet-100 owned by Aeroflot had to make an emergency landing after its landing gear doors failed to close after takeoff. The airline's first Superjet was grounded for several weeks after it was delivered after an air-conditioning problem was discovered.
Sukhoi's Asian roadshow took the jet to Kazakhstan, Burma and Pakistan before reaching Indonesia, where it had made a successful demonstration flight. It was due to head to Laos and Vietnam.
The Sukhoi completed its first passenger flight, with Armavia, in April last year and was certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency in February.