TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Sukhoi deemed airworthy before Salak crash inquiry ends
The Transportation Ministry says that the Russian-made Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft is airworthy, even though investigators are still probing the crash that took place in West Java in May
Change Size
T
he Transportation Ministry says that the Russian-made Sukhoi Superjet 100 aircraft is airworthy, even though investigators are still probing the crash that took place in West Java in May.
The ministry’s Civil Aviation Directorate validated a type certificate for the Superjet 100 on Tuesday, clearing the way for Sukhoi to deliver orders for the 100-seat passenger aircraft to local carriers Sky Aviation and Kartika Airlines, who are expected to immediately put the aircraft into operation.
The National Transportation Safety Committee’s (KNKT) air transportation safety division head, Masruri, said that the issuance of the certificate had nothing to do with the ongoing investigation of the Superjet crash.
“Validation is a process that confirms the compliance of an aircraft with the certification requirements of the Indonesian aviation authorities, including its design, engine, operating limitations and airworthiness. It is not the same as, and has no relation to, the crash investigation,” Masruri said on Tuesday.
“[Validation] shows that the aircraft has fulfilled airworthiness requirements that are in line with international civil aviation regulations. It is not easy to obtain the certificate or its validation.”
The KNKT expects that its investigation of the crash will finish in December.
The Sukhoi Superjet 100 airplane on a demonstration flight crashed into Mount Salak, about 20 airline kilometers south of Bogor, West Java, on May 9.
All 45 people on board the plane were killed, including 35 Indonesian passengers, eight Russian crew members and two passengers from the US and France.
Transportation Ministry spokesman Bambang S. Ervan agreed with Masruri, saying that it was wrong to connect the validation of the Superjet 100 airplane with the crash.
The Superjet 100 is a medium-haul passenger aircraft developed by the Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company (SCAF) in cooperation with US and European aviation corporations that include Boeing, Snecma, Thales, Messier Dowty, Liebherr Aerospace and Honeywell.
SCAF first vice president Igor Vinogradov said that the company was delighted to receive news of the validation and was ready to deliver the jets.
“We are now ready to supply the aircraft to our first client in Southeast Asia, Indonesian carrier Sky Aviation,” Igor said, as quoted by Russian news agency RIA Novosti
Sky Aviation general marketing manager Sutito Zainudin said that the airline had ordered 12 Superjet 100s for US$380.4 million and expected to take delivery of its first Sukhoi in December.
The contract between the company and Sukhoi Civil Aircraft was signed during the International and Space Salon MAKS-2011 in Zhukovsky, Russia in August 2011.
“We will receive three Sukhois up to March 2013, and we are going to operate the aircraft from our regional bases in Denpasar [Bali] and Makassar [South Sulawesi] to serve eastern Indonesia,” Sutito said.
Sky Aviation would continue to take delivery of the jets until 2015 and was confident that the Sukhois would help the airline to strengthen its position in Indonesia’s aviation industry, he added.
Timeline SSJ 100
May 9
Sukhoi Superjet 100 declared missing after disappearing from radar screens at 2:33 p.m. Jakarta time. The missing Sukhoi is on a “road show” in several Central and Southeast Asian countries to introduce the airplane by conducting demonstration flights.
May 10
An Air Force helicopter locates the missing Sukhoi on the slopes of Mt. Salak, at about 5,800 feet above sea level. The crash site is near the aircraft’s last known position.
May 10-21
The National Search and Rescue Agency (Basarnas) and other rescue teams search for and remove the remains of victims from the site of the crash. The National Police’s Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) unit identifies all 45 people on board the aircraft when it crashed.
May 15
Members of joint team comprising the Army’s Special Forces (Kopassus) and Indonesian Rock Climbing Federation personnel find the Sukhoi’s black box at the crash scene.
