Al menos las autoridades de Indonesia no han descartado que el avion haya sido secuestrado segun esta nota
Russia’s Sukhoi SuperJet-100 goes off radars in Jakarta, hijacking not ruled out
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Published: 09 May, 2012, 14:15
Edited: 09 May, 2012, 17:30
John Moore / Getty Images / AFP
John Moore / Getty Images / AFP
TAGS: Asia, Accident, Planes
Russia’s latest civil airliner carrying 44 passengers has disappeared from the radars during a demonstrative flight in the Indonesian capital. Hijacking and a high-altitude crash into a mountain have not been ruled out.
#The aircraft did not return to the airport at the scheduled time following takeoff. By that time, the fuel should have been totally spent.
Shortly before going off the radar, the crew of the aircraft had asked for permission to descend, Russia’s RIA Novosti news agency quotes an Indonesian aviation official as saying.
It got permission to descend from an altitude of 10,000 feet down to 6,000, moving downwards in a rightward direction. According to the official, there is a 6,200 foot-high mountain in the area where the plane went missing.
However, Indonesian aviation authorities haven’t ruled out that the aircraft was hijacked.
There were 44 people onboard, including 8 Russians and 36 citizens from other countries – mostly representatives from major airline companies.
The aircraft was operated by a Russian crew.
Recent messages on Twitter posted by blogger and traveler Sergey Dolya give the names of the crew members. The plane was operated by senior test-pilot Aleksandr Yablontsev and co-pilot Aleksandr Kochetkov.
RIA Novosti also released the names of six other Russian nationals. Aero navigator Oleg Shvetsov, flight engineer Aleksey Kirkin, leading test flight engineer Dennis Rakhmanov, test flight deputy head Nikolay Martyshenko, “Sukhoi” company Sales Director Evgeny Grebenshchikov, and contract manager Kristina Kurzhukova were all reportedly on board.
The latest reports suggest the mobile phones of at least two passengers are working, though nobody has picked up.
“A call waiting tone can be heard, but nobody is answering,” the director of Angkasa Aviation magazine says, as cited by Detik.com. Two employees of Angkasa, Didi Yusuf and Dodi Aviantara, were reportedly onboard the missing plane.
Indonesian authorities have called in a crisis group comprising local authorities and Russian embassy employees.
“The authorities are searching for the plane. A helicopter has just returned but says there is no trace of it. Rescuers are looking at the maps trying to determine where it could be,” Sergey Dolya who was on a previous flight on the very same aircraft, told RT.
The rescue operation is being hampered by rain, fog and the approaching dusk, Indonesia’s aviation traffic regulator says.
The Russian aircraft arrived in Indonesia on May 9 – the fourth stop on its Asian demonstrative tour, which includes six countries in total. The plane had previously visited Myanmar, Pakistan and Kazakhstan. After Jakarta it was supposed to go to two more Asian countries – Laos and Vietnam.
#The Sukhoi SuperJet-100 is a modern regional jet with a passenger capacity of up to 100 people. It was designed by the Russian aerospace company Sukhoi in co-operation with Alenia Aeronautica. It is the first civil aircraft developed in post-soviet Russia. The aircraft conducted its maiden flight on May 19, 2008. In January 2011 the plane was certified by the Interstate Aviation Committee. It was subsequently certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency in February 2012. The Sukhoi Superjet 100 flies at a Maximum Operating Speed of Mach 0.81and can reach an altitude of 40,000 feet. The operating range for the basic version is 3,048 km and 4,578 km for the long range version. Since its first commercial flight on April 2011, SuperJet has performed over 3300 flights. Currently there are eight jets operated by Armavia and Aeroflot.
The aircraft has already made one half-hour long demonstrative flight in Jakarta. The first time it took to the skies, flight attendants from the Sky Aviation airliner, representatives from “VEB-Leasing” company, and others from a Russian insurance agency were on board.
During its second flight, the aircraft took the potential buyers– representatives from Indonesia’s Batavia, Pelita, Air Aviastar, and Sriwijaya Air.
Olga Kulikova, press-secretary for Russia’s “United Aircraft Corporation”, told RT the first flight went without a hitch and there were no signs of trouble the second time around.
“Both flights were carried out from the same airport in Jakarta. Before the second flight, the plane underwent required maintenance and was technically in good order.”
We will bring you more details as soon as the information comes in.