All news

All victims of SSJ100 crash in Indonesia identified

The remains will be handed over to the families on Wednesday

BANGKOK, May 20 (Itar-Tass) —— The Indonesian police have completed the identification of 45 victims of the Sukhoi Superjet 100 crash of May 9, police medical department chief Brigadier General Ishac Musadek told a Sunday press conference in Jakarta.

He said the police had identified 14 women and 31 men. A number of formalities need to be accomplished now. Death certificates will be issued, and families will say goodbye to the crash victims on Tuesday, May 22. The remains will be handed over to the families on Wednesday.

The general said they used finger prints, forensic tests and dental records in the identification process.

The SSJ100 crashed in Indonesia during a show flight on May 9, 2012. It fell down in an area difficult of access not far from Jakarta, at the altitude of 1.7 kilometers. All the 45 people aboard, including 35 Indonesians, eight Russians, a citizen of France and a citizen of the United States, died in the crash.

The Sukhoi Superjet 100 is a regional 100-seat aircraft designed and manufactured by Sukhoi Civil Aircraft with the assistance of Alenia Aermacchi. Its flight range varies from 3,048 to 4,578 kilometers depending on the modification.

The jetliner is being used by Armenia’s Armavia and Aeroflot – Russian Airlines. There are about 170 orders for SSJ100 jets.

The Indonesian buyer, Kartika, suspended the contract until the end of the investigation. Kartlika Airlines and Sukhoi Civil Aircraft signed the deal for Sukhoi Superjet-100 planes at the air show in Farnborough in July 2010. The deal cost 951 million dollars, and the deliveries were due in 2012-2015.

Meanwhile, airlines, which are already using the SSJ100, said they would not do that.

Russian Deputy Minister of Industry and Commerce Yuri Slyusar said there was no need to ban SSJ100 flights and he hoped that current and prospective customers would not change their mind.

The Mexican airline Interjet announced on Friday that it would not go back on the Sukhoi Superjet 100 contract; it plans to order 20 SSJ100 more,

The initial contract stipulates the acquisition of 15 SSJ100, plus an option for five jets. The contract was signed in January 2011. The first plane is due to arrive in the end of 2012. Mexican aviation authorities certified the jet this April, which made unlimited its use in the Mexican airspace.