BANGKOK, November 28 (Itar-Tass) — Indonesia has validated the international certificate for Russia’s Sukhoi Superjet 100 airliner, spokesman for the Indonesian Transport Ministry Bambang Ervan said.
“The validation is based on a study of the technical aspects of the aircraft production,” Ervan, who is quoted by local media on Wednesday, said. “The plane meets all aircraft building standards,” he stressed. As a result, the Russian plane has got the first certification in South East Asia, analysts said.
The Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ 100) is a modern, fly-by-wire regional jet in the 75- to 95-seat category. With development starting in 2000, the airliner was designed by the civil aircraft division of the Russian aerospace company Sukhoi in cooperation with its main partner Boeing. Its maiden flight was conducted on 19 May 2008. On 21 April 2011, the Superjet 100 undertook its first commercial passenger flight, on the Armavia route from Yerevan to Moscow. Designed to compete internationally with its An-148, Embraer and Bombardier counterparts, the Superjet 100 claims substantially lower operating costs, at a lower purchase price of 35 million US dollars. The final assembly of the Superjet 100 is done by Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aircraft Production Association. Its SaM-146 engines are designed and produced by the French-Russian PowerJet joint venture and the aircraft is marketed internationally by the Italian-Russian SuperJet International joint venture.
By the end of the year, the Russian manufacturer is to deliver the first airliner to the Indonesian customer - Sky Aviation airline, the media indicate. The company signed a contract on the delivery of a total of 12 Russian aircraft in the period from 2012 to 2015. According to available data, the contract sum is 380.4 million US dollars.
Ervan also pointed out that the Indonesian National Committee for Transportation Safety has completed the investigation into a Sukhoi Superjet 100 crash that occurred on May 9, 2012 in the area of Mount Salak near Jakarta. The airliner was performing a demonstration flight then with 45 people on board, including eight Russians, 35 Indonesians, as well as a French and an American. The radio contact with the plane was lost 20 minutes after takeoff. The plane crashed into a steep slope of Mount Salak. The wreckage of the airliner was found on an almost vertical slope of the mountain about 64 kilometres south of the Indonesian capital. The crew and passengers were killed. Rescuers have found both the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder of the airliner.
Earlier this month, Russian Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov said that the official report on the investigation into the crash of the Sukhoi Superjet plane in Indonesia would be published in mid-December. He also pointed out that on November 22 the Indonesian authorities issued a certificate of approval of the aircraft, which makes it possible to start the Superjet operation in the market of the Asian country. The minister stressed that this testifies to the fact that “the Indonesian aviation authorities have no claims to the equipment, and by the end of the year we are to deliver the first Superjet plane to the Indonesian customer.”