Sukhoi Superjet 100 disappears over Indonesia

[dubjager]

Crazy stuff. I hope the passengers are all right.... Wonder what happened...

http://www.cnn.com/2012/05/09/world/...html?hpt=hp_t1

[yz1337]

CFIT happened

[20DYNAMITE07]

LOST pic removed now that we know their fate. So sad.

[ATL_Av8r]

Damn. Not good for Sukhoi. Even if it wasn't a mech/structural issue it's gotta affect sales. Russia needs this plane to get back in the commercial game. Gotta think there were some pretty high-rank officials at some of the smaller Indonesian airlines aboard

[GolfTango]

Hoping for the best.

Some great photos of the a/c right before the incident.

http://gallery.me.com/sdolya#102194&...r=black&sel=73

[Jettavr666]

Damn. Not good for Sukhoi. Even if it wasn't a mech/structural issue it's gotta affect sales. Russia needs this plane to get back in the commercial game. Gotta think there were some pretty high-rank officials at some of the smaller Indonesian airlines aboard

RIP to the people on board, but

This is what I was thinking. Airbus had to fight back enough after AF 296, and that crash was attributed to pilot error, and there was only a couple fatalities. Even if it is found to not be a mechanical issue, sukhoi is going to have an uphill battle to make people trust this aircraft. People now expect aircraft to be almost perfect (think 777). Even the AF 296 incident was at a time when air crashes were more expected. Now, its almost unheard of to have a mechanical failure, and pilot errors even in developing countries are more rare.

[AZGolf]

CFIT happened

Well at least one article I read indicated they descended to 6000 feet in an area with mountains up to 7200' tall. No Garmin SVT, huh? There's an irony to having access to this technology in kit planes and cheap GA airplanes but not having it on commercial aircraft.



Related: who's responsibility is it to maintain a safe altitude when flying IFR in US airspace? Obviously, the rules could be different there, but if you ask for IFR clearance to, say, FL130 while flying over Aspen, CO, are you going to be cleared to that altitude even if it presents a clear terrain danger? Is it the pilot's responsibility to ask for safe altitudes, or center's responsibility to only grant safe altitudes?

[dubjager]

Related: who's responsibility is it to maintain a safe altitude when flying IFR in US airspace? Obviously, the rules could be different there, but if you ask for IFR clearance to, say, FL130 while flying over Aspen, CO, are you going to be cleared to that altitude even if it presents a clear terrain danger? Is it the pilot's responsibility to ask for safe altitudes, or center's responsibility to only grant safe altitudes?

Good question. I'd love to know to as well

Aren't Indonesian airliners banned from EU and US? Truly a shame... I agree with ATL_Av8r, the russians need to get their act together with this plane!

[OOOO-A3]

Related: who's responsibility is it to maintain a safe altitude when flying IFR in US airspace? Obviously, the rules could be different there, but if you ask for IFR clearance to, say, FL130 while flying over Aspen, CO, are you going to be cleared to that altitude even if it presents a clear terrain danger? Is it the pilot's responsibility to ask for safe altitudes, or center's responsibility to only grant safe altitudes?

The Pilot In Command.

ATC isn't going to clear you for anything below the MEA (minimum enroute altitude) if on an airway, or the OROCA (off-route obstacle clearance altitude) if operating off-airway.

[Gern_Blanston]

ATC isn't going to clear you for anything below the MEA (minimum enroute altitude) if on an airway, or the OROCA (off-route obstacle clearance altitude) if operating off-airway.

Hopefully.

[NZTIGUAN]

Latest from the news here:

The wreckage of a jet which crashed while on a demonstration flight in Indonesia with 48 people on board has been found.

Indonesian search and rescue authorities have confirmed the Russian-made Sukhoi Superjet-100 had been spotted from the air.

The wreckage was found on Thursday morning about 3km from the town of Cicurug, on the side of Mount Salak, a dormant volcano south of the Indonesian capital Jakarta.

There was no sign of survivors.

"The plane has been located on the side of the mountain," military official Ali Umri Lubis said.

"We can only see the body of the plane. We can't confirm the extent of the damage because we have not been able to get close enough."

The jet left from an airport in Jakarta on Wednesday afternoon with 48 people on board, including aviation industry representatives, diplomats and journalists.

Eight of those aboard the plane were Russians, including pilots and technicians, while a French national was also on the flight.

It disappeared from radar about 50 minutes later shortly after descending from 3000 metres to 1800 metres.

Weather conditions were poor in the area around Mount Salak at the time of the crash.

The dormant volcano is known for its bad weather. It's full name - Halimun Salak - translates as "fog" in Sundanese.

Juanda, a villager from Tenjolaya district near Mount Salak, told AFP that he had seen the plane shortly before it crashed.

"I looked up and saw a huge white plane moving unsteadily just slightly below the mountain summit.

"It was still way above the trees but veering left and right, and then it disappeared."

"I heard a sound like firecrackers, but I couldn't see it anymore."

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has announced an investigation into the crash, which comes amid an Asian tour to promote the new passenger aircraft.

The twin-engine Superjet is a joint venture between Sukhoi and Italy's Alenia Aeronautica and made its first commercial flight last year.

[vwnut82]

[QUOTE=AZGolf;77311216]Well at least one article I read indicated they descended to 6000 feet in an area with mountains up to 7200' tall. No Garmin SVT, huh? There's an irony to having access to this technology in kit planes and cheap GA airplanes but not having it on commercial aircraft.

[quote]

Yup even with 5 or 6 MFDs we don't even know what airspace we are in or what roads and bodies of water we are over like you could see on a Garmin 430. But we do have a great EGPWS that screams when you are no where near terrain but says nothing when you are

Related: who's responsibility is it to maintain a safe altitude when flying IFR in US airspace? Obviously, the rules could be different there, but if you ask for IFR clearance to, say, FL130 while flying over Aspen, CO, are you going to be cleared to that altitude even if it presents a clear terrain danger? Is it the pilot's responsibility to ask for safe altitudes, or center's responsibility to only grant safe altitudes?

The rules are different. Just like Mexico. Most of the time you are non radar anyway. But in most other contries, Pilots are treated like gods. They are never wrong so ATC will not question you. If you ask for 4,000 when there is terrain at 7,000 you will get 4,000. Most of the procedures start at cruise altitude anyway. It's your responsibilty to execute the procedure correctly.

[hugoaswho]

That's what happens when you got people with fake engineering degrees building planes.

rip

[joness0154]

That's what happens when you got people with fake engineering degrees building planes.

rip

It would have nothing to do with CFIT, not at all.