10 May 2012

Indonesia Finds SuperJet 100 Crash Site

Russian plane hit side of steep volcano- no survivors

Indonesian Air Force
Rescuers found shattered wreckage earlier today of the Russian-made Sukhoi Superjet 100 that hit the side of an Indonesian volcano at full-speed during a sales demonstration flight- all 45 people on board were feared dead.

The spot is nearly unreachable on foot. so evidence and bodies are being placed in nets/hammocks and raised by helicopters from the Indonesian Air Force.

The Sukhoi Superjet 100 -Russia's first new model of passenger jet since the fall of the USSR- carried with it high hopes for Russian passenger aircraft sales, both domestically and internationally.




The doomed plane was carrying dozens of representatives from local airlines and journalists on what was supposed to be a quick, 50-minute demonstration flight Wednesday.... but 21 minutes out of Jakarta, the Russian pilot asked for permission to drop from 10,000 feet to 6,000 feet, according to the chief of the national search and rescue agency in Indonesia.

They then promptly disappeared -inexplicably- from the radar screen.

Flying at 6,000 feet very close to the 7,000-foot volcano, the plane smashed into the jagged ridge on top of the dormant Mount Salak at a speed of approximately 480 mph.

The impact sent debris tumbling down the side of the mountain, leaving a giant hole in the side of the volcano's side... trees were blown-off clean.

The Superjet 100 was developed with the encouragement of the Kremlin in-order for the Russians to regain a foothold in the passenger plane export market. The country's commercial passenger aircraft industry all but evaporated in the financial chaos of the Yeltsin era.

Potential buyers will scrutinize the crash investigation for signs of flaws in the Sukhoi Superjet 100