IMO view: Sukhoi and ‘Mission Impossible II’

Following an accident, conspiracy theories are often spoken louder than official statements. Some people think that there was a conspiracy behind the Sukhoi Superjet 100 tragedy in Mt. Salak because of the rumored discovery of a parachute near the Russian pilot’s body.

Some people stated that the pilot tried to escape from the airplane. The alleged finding of the parachute at first was denied by the government and Sukhoi’s official agent. In next few days, they said that the parachute was a standard survival tool.

Thousands years ago, Plato argued that art imitated life because the ideas for art were taken from real life. It seems that thousands of years later, Plato’s idea holds true. There are a number of similarities between the Sukhoi Superjet 100 tragedy and the opening scene of Mission Impossible II, starring Tom Cruise.

In the modern era, an airplane should be equipped with parachutes. I know this based on official statements from Sukhoi’s manufacturer and the Indonesian government.

We also have to realize that stories of pilots asking for permission to descend to a lower altitude in their airplane and crashing into mountains are common stories. We never hope accidents like these happen anywhere in the world.

Based on news in the mass media, the Sukhoi Superjet 100 pilot asked for permission to descend near Mt. Salak, and moments later, Air Traffic Control (ATC) lost contact. In the next few hours, the government stated that the Sukhoi Superjet 100 was lost and probably had crashed into the mountain.

During the evacuation process, the rescue teams were rumored to have found a parachute near the pilot. At first it was denied in official statements by government and the plane’s manufacturer. Then, the government and the manufacturer stated that the parachutes were used as emergency equipment.

In the opening of Mission Impossible II, a group of hijackers infiltrate an airplane, sabotaging equipment, killing passengers, and stealing a deadly virus before parachuting to safety moments before the plane crashes into a mountain.

We can conclude that the opening of Mission Impossible II is similar with Sukhoi Superjet 100 tragedy. The story of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 tragedy also sounds similar with the tragedy in Colombo in the mid-1970s, when an Indonesian airplane crashed into a mountain after its pilot asked for permission to reduce the plane’s altitude.

We have to wait for an official statement from the National Board of Transportation Safety (KNKT) and the police after they examine the black box. Conspiracy theories should not be considered a fact in judging what is happened to the Sukhoi Superjet 100 when it crashed into Mt. Salak.

Ferril Irham Muzaki
State University of Malang
Malang, East Java