Posted on 05/10/2012 5:07:22 PM PDT by Idaho_Cowboy
Jakarta, Indonesia (CNN) -- Thick fog and steep, mountainous terrain forced rescuers to halt their efforts to reach the wreckage of a Russian jetliner that crashed on a demonstration flight in Indonesia, the country's state news agency reported Thursday.
The Sukhoi Superjet 100 came to rest on the side of Mount Salak, a volcano south of Jakarta, Vice Marshal Daryatmo, head of the National Search and Rescue Agency, told the Indonesian news agency Antara. Efforts to reach the wreck are expected to resume Friday morning, said Daryatmo, who like many Indonesians uses only one name.
"We have identified the crash coordinates, but our personnel have not yet arrived at the location," Antara quoted Daryatmo as saying. "However, because there is thick fog covering Mount Salak and the tilt of the cliff is 85 degrees, the evacuation process has been halted until tomorrow morning."
The Russian Investigative Committee said 48 people were on board the plane, including eight Russian crew members. But the Russian news agency RIA-Novosti said the number was 45, citing Sukhoi Civil Aviation President Vladimir Prisyazhnyuk as saying three of the people on the passenger list did not board the flight.
The wreckage was spotted at an elevation of about 5,800 feet (nearly 1,800 meters). Gagah Prakoso, a spokesman for the rescue agency, said the authorities hope to start removing bodies from the area by helicopter Friday, and there has been no sign that anyone survived.
Daryatmo said the Sukhoi logo had been identified amid the wreckage of the plane, which disappeared off radar screens Wednesday. An image released by the Indonesian military showed bits of debris strewn across a patch of steep mountainside that had been stripped bare of the thick surrounding vegetation.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
“The plane was on a demonstration flight for Indonesian Ministry of Transportation officials and representatives of Indonesian airlines...”
I wonder if they still made the sale?
ya know.. if they can find a signed contract in the wreckage.. I wonder if the company would enforce it.
..more to the story. Pilot requested permission to descend to 6,000 feet (below the level of the peaks in this area?) was given permission, and promptly crashed into the side of this mountain at top speed. Pilot and tower error all the way.
Flew rigtht into the not very soft and fluffy cumulo-granite.
Controlled flight into terrain, looks like.
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