Russia shows strong commitment to compensate Sukhoi victims’ families

The Transportation Ministry has received an official letter from the Russian government to compensate each family of Sukhoi Superjet 100’s victims amounting to Rp 1.25 billion (US$132.908), a senior official said in Jakarta on Tuesday.

“Transportation Minister E.E Mangindaan has received a written statement from Sukhoi’s first vice president of Sukhoi Civil Aircraft on Monday. It shows a strong commitment from the Russians to pay the insurance based on Indonesian aviation regulation,” spokesman Bambang Ervan said.

He said that the disbursement of the insurance will take some time because it should follow administration procedures.

The Russian-made jet with 45 people onboard disappeared from radar screens at 2:33 p.m. on May 9th before debris was found at about 9:15 a.m. the following day at about 5,800 feet on the slopes of Mt. Salak in West Java.

The pilot of the aircraft, Alexander Yablontsev, was highly regarded as one of the best in his home country.

Yablontsev had more than 14,000 flying hours in 221 different types of aircraft. (nfo)