May 9, 2012
Russia’s Sukhoi Superjet-100 airplane, on a demonstration flight in Jakarta, went off radar screens on Wednesday, Indonesian aviation authorities said.
There are 44 people on board, including eight Russians and 36 foreign nationals.
Indonesian authorities suggested the airplane may have been hijacked or crashed into a mountain in poor visibility.
The plane has failed to return to the airport after a demonstration flight.
Shortly before radio contact was lost the pilots had requested permission to descend from 10,000 feet to 6,000 feet, air traffic controllers said.
After it was cleared for descent the plane started turning right and descending but then disappeared from the radar screens at an altitude of 6,200 feet in a mountainous area.
By the time the plane was due to return it should have burned up its fuel.
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Earlier in the day the SSJ-100 carried out two demonstration flights in the Indonesian capital as the manufacturer said Pakistan’s Air Indus has shown an interest in purchasing eight SSJ-100s.
The SSJ-100 arrived in Jakarta as part of a demonstration tour of six Asian countries. It had been to Myanmar, Pakistan and Kazakhstan, and after Indonesia was due to visit Laos and Vietnam.
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