Russian jet with 44 aboard missing in Indonesia

A Russian Sukhoi Superjet 100 on a demonstration flight with at least 44 people aboard went missing in a mountainous area south of the Indonesian capital Jakarta on Tuesday, officials said.

"The plane disappeared from the radar around the Bogor area. We are still looking for it and we are uncertain whether it crashed," said Gagah Prakoso, spokesman for the national search and rescue agency.

The plane took off at 2:00 pm (1200 IST) from east Jakarta's Halim Perdanakusuma airport, which is used for some commercial and military flights, he said."At 2:50 pm it dropped from 10,000 feet (3,000 metres) to 6,000 feet," the agency added in a text message to agency.Transport ministry spokesman Bambang Ervan said the descent was intentional, and that the pilot was trying to head back to the Halim air field.He said the flight went missing "in a mountainous area 10 nautical miles from Bogor military airbase."The rescue agency spokesman said it was carrying 46 people but Dimitry Solodov, press attache at the Russian embassy in Jakarta, said he could confirm 44 on board, eight of them Russian airline crew members, and some journalists.

Herry Bakti, head of the transport ministry's aviation division, said the aircraft was on the second of two demonstration flights, and those on board were invited guests.

The Sukhoi Superjet, a mid-range airliner that carries up to 100 people, has been presented as Russia's contender to compete in the international civil aviation industry.

After its maiden flight in 2008, deliveries were delayed several times, but the planes are already in use with Russia's largest carrier Aeroflot and have been ordered by smaller airlines in Russia and abroad.It claims to offer lower operating costs than rival aircraft made by Brazil's Embraer and Canada's Bombardier.The official Antara news agency said that domestic Indonesian carrier Kartika Airlines and regional Sky Aviation had both placed orders for the Sukhoi Superjet. 

 The darkness, fog and rain complicate the search of Russia’s Sukhoi Superjet-100, which went missing on Wednesday on a demonstration flight near Jakarta, a spokesman of aeronautical airspace control in Indonesia said.The plane has failed to return to the airport after a demonstration flight. Shortly before radio contact was lost, 20 minutes after takeoff, the pilots had requested permission to descend from 10,000 feet (3,000 meters) to 6,000 feet (1,800 meters), 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 60 kilometers from Jakarta.
The spokesman said that the plain disappeared in the area of Mount Salak, which is 7,254 feet (2,211 meters) high.There are 44 people on board, including eight Russians and 36 foreign nationals. The Russian Embassy in Jakarta said that in addition to the Russian crew, there were only citizens of Indonesia on board.
Crisis Staff however reported that there were 50 people on board, including eight Russians, two Italians, one French and one American citizens and 38 citizens of Indonesia.

 Indonesian authorities suggested the airplane may have been hijacked or crashed into a mountain in poor visibility.By the time the plane was due to return it should have burned up its fuel.
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 has been to Myanmar, Pakistan and Kazakhstan, and after Indonesia was due to visit Laos and Vietnam.
The Superjet 100 is a medium-haul passenger aircraft developed by Sukhoi in cooperation with U.S. and European aviation corporations, including Boeing, Snecma, Thales, Messier Dowty, Liebherr Aerospace and Honeywell.